The new Lower Hunter hospital will be built on the PGH Bricks site at Metford. 

The 40 hectare Crown land site – which borders Metford Road, the rail line and residential homes – will become a medical hub offering health services that are not available in Maitland. 

Health Minister Jillian Skinner and Maitland MP Robyn Parker will make the announcement at the site this morning. 

Ms Skinner confirmed the hospital will provide acute care services, treatment for cancer patients, have an emergency short-stay unit for people who need to be observed and ­monitored for up to 24 hours, and a first-class intensive care unit. 

She said other health care providers and medical training facilities will eventually share the site.

The hospital will be equipped to respond to emergencies with a new ambulance station and a helipad on site. These facilities will allow the hospital to take some of the pressure off the John Hunter Hospital, Ms Skinner said.

“The hospital will offer higher level services than the current Maitland Hospital and provide more complex care and services,” she said.

“This will allow Maitland and Hunter residents to receive more of their acute care closer to home without travelling to Newcastle or out of the area, Ms Skinner said.

“Hunter families will remember this day as the important first step on the journey towards a world-class hospital which will serve their community for generations to come.”

Ms Parker said the planning team had chosen the perfect parcel of land because it was six times larger than the Maitland Hospital site, had space for ample on-site parking, was out of flood reach, close to the New England Highway, M1, and Hunter Expressway, and had a train station within 50 metres.

The site was one of about 35 identified during an Expressions of Interest process that began in November 2012 and ended on January 25.

The planning team reduced the possible sites to six, and then two. Experts were united that Metford was the best location.

Ms Parker said the fact that the government already owned the site meant the $20 million allocated for planning and the purchase of a site could be spread further.

She said the Hunter Valley’s projected growth warranted the hospital and she was proud to deliver a key infrastructure commitment that would benefit future generations. 

“We identified the need for a new hospital, we made a commitment to the community and we’re demonstrating our dedication to making this happen,” Ms Parker said.

The next step will be to examine the clinical services and capital works needed, including the number of beds for the hospital.