Maitland Hospital will benefit from a multi-million dollar funding boost aimed at relieving pressure in the hospital’s struggling emergency department.
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NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner will today announce a $5.3 million investment to expand services at Maitland and Kurri Kurri hospitals to deliver enhanced care for patients and alleviate pressure on medical staff.
The funding will deliver 16 additional acute beds at Maitland Hospital to boost clinical care for patients across the emergency department.
To create capacity for the beds, 12 rehabilitation beds will be moved from Maitland to Kurri Kurri Hospital to consolidate the region’s rehabilitation services and increase the beds on-site from 14 to 26.
“Maitland is a busy hospital and these beds will do much to assist staff to deliver their quality care for patients in a more timely fashion,” Mrs Skinner said.
“The Baird government is committed to delivering the new Maitland Hospital and this $5.3 million investment will assist the existing hospital to cope with patient demand until it is built.”
Construction work will also be undertaken to expand the existing rehabilitation unit at Kurri Kurri Hospital while the physiotherapy department outpatient waiting room at Maitland Hospital will be expanded to improve patient comfort. The project is expected to be completed early next year.
The news follows a call from the Maitland Hospital Medical Council for better health funding to meet the rapidly escalating pressure on the existing public health infrastructure.
Mrs Skinner said the work forms part of the new Maitland Hospital project.
“The new Maitland Hospital will be magnificent but it won’t be built overnight which is why investing in current services is important to ensure the community has access to quality care,” she said.
“This $5.3 million investment will be a welcome boost for staff at both Maitland and Kurri Kurri hospitals to provide additional capacity to meet the ongoing demand of planned and unplanned admissions.”
Liberal candidate for Maitland Steve Thomson said the funding is great news for patients across the region.
“This will go a long way to assisting staff until the state-of-the-art new hospital for Maitland is up and running,” Mr Thomson said.