- National
- ACT
This was published 8 years ago
Calvary's new private hospital in Canberra will open to patients in a year
By Ross Peake
Calvary's new private hospital is rising quickly and on track to open to patients in a year.
Construction is being accelerated by having the en suite units built off site – ready to be installed in rooms when the main building work is completed.
The $72 million hospital will have only single-bed rooms, along with eight operating theatres, and will employ an extra 70 to 80 staff.
The construction will use 6000 cubic metres of concrete and 500 tonnes of reinforcement, while 80 per cent of the subcontractors are from Canberra.
Shaune Gillespie, chief executive of Calvary Private and Calvary John James, said the hospital would open with 94 beds.
"It will be able to expand up to about 175 quite easily," he said.
Level two would be left as a shell initially and converted into more rooms for patients as demand grows, he said.
Another floor could also be added without major disruption to the hospital.
Karen Edwards, CEO of Calvary Public Hospital, said the new block would free up private beds in the main 280-bed hospital building.
"It gives an additional 48 beds and two and a half operating theatres back to the public sector, along with some day surgery capacity," she said.
The two buildings would be joined by an elevated walkway.
The multi-level car park that opened earlier this year, funded by ACT Health, has helped enormously, she said.
Angus Bradley, Calvary's national development and property manager, said the stand-alone private hospital was part of a $400 million national expansion of Calvary's hospitals and aged-care facilities.
The construction work at Bruce was on time to allow the building to be completed and welcome its first patients at this time next year, he said.