Toowoomba hospital expansion hits major milestone
THE $15 million expansion of a major Toowoomba hospital has reached a new milestone, with the walls starting to go up this week.
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THE $15 million expansion of a major Toowoomba hospital has reached a new milestone, with the walls starting to go up on the building this week.
Hutchinson Builders has started erecting the tilt panels on the new emergency and radiology departments at St Vincent's Private Hospital.
The massive project, approved by the council in September last year, will treat about 5000 patients a month with the most up-to-date facilities and equipment once it is completed towards the end of the year.
Hospital CEO Kathryn McKeefry said the building, which would be known as the Clive Berghofer Emergency Department and the Queensland X-Ray Radiology Centre, would be easier to find and navigate than the previous services.
"The emergency centre will feature three resuscitation areas, 15 treatment areas, and a medical assessment and planning unit with ability to provide allied health and nurse practitioner-led services," she said in a statement.
"The new medical imaging facilities will include nuclear medicine, ultrasound, x-ray, CT and MRI scanner.
"There will be a new cafe with indoor and outdoor dining and a florist."
Ms McKeefry told The Chronicle last year the new building was the next step in a 10-year plan for the hospital.
"We'll be in another phase for the next one, like a new ICU. We have a 10-year strategy for all this," she said in April last year.
"This is so fantastic for the people of Toowoomba."
The current emergency department is expected to be gutted and used for storage, while two other buildings that housed maintenance, landscaping, dangerous goods and MRI services currently or in the past will be demolished.
Hutchinson Builders team leader Joe Watson said about 80 per cent of workers on the site were locally sourced.
"We expect peak daily workforce to reach 50 people, with roughly 400 different individuals to be involved over the course of the project," he said.
