The state government has unveiled plans for the $400 million hospital at Metford.
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The final business case for the new hospital will be submitted on Friday, ending the first phase of planning for the major project.
The business case will recommend which services can be delivered at the new hospital.
These proposed services include:
- additional inpatient beds in medicine, surgery, orthopaedics and rehabilitation
- more delivery suites, plus more theatre and day beds
- new services including an intensive care unit, emergency short stay unit and a psychiatric emergency care centre
- enhanced ambulatory care centre, introducing new chemotherapy and medical day unit services
- enhancements to existing medical imaging services, with an additional CT scanner and general X-ray room
“The NSW government has committed more than $400 million to build this hospital," Health Minister Jillian Skinner said.
"The final business case supports our vision to offer a higher level of services than the current hospital, with all public patients having access to first-class, free health care at the new Maitland Hospital.”
“It will now be considered as part of the normal budget planning cycle, with planning work to continue through 2016 and construction set to begin in this term of government.”
Reconfiguration of services at Kurri Kurri Hospital and the existing Maitland Hospital is already underway and is the first step in delivering the new Maitland Hospital.
Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison wants more than an artist's impression for the new hospital.
"The minister needs to urgently release a definite start date, a definite completion date and most importantly when the hospital will open," she said.
"It's been over five years since the Minister promised this hospital and we are no closer to adding capacity to our struggling health system.
"I have repeatedly asked this question in parliament and we still have no more information on the construction date than we did at the beginning of the year.
"The Minister needs to commit to a timeframe on this hospital to provide certainty to our community on the continuation of quality health services.
"Our existing hospital is struggling to cope with five new people moving to Maitland each day.
"Medical staff are doing their best in cramped conditions. This will end up in a tragedy if the Minister does not urgently deliver the promised new hospital which our community so desperately needs."
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A spokeswoman for Hunter New England Health said the plan involved “a significant increase in bed numbers” on the existing hospital.
It would include a new psychiatric emergency care centre, an intensive care unit, and emergency short stay.
With no definite timeframe, the plan was worth very little to the community, which might be waiting until 2019 for the first sod to be turned, Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison said.
In the meantime, the promised facility was shrinking, being downgraded from a promised first class, tertiary referral facility to something much less, she said.
Australian Medical Association NSW president Saxon Smith said that with a price tag of $400 million, the planned new hospital would not meet community demand for health services.
“The proposed funding of $400 million will fail to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population in the Lower Hunter,’’ he said.
“The government is seeking to revert to a hospital design which will result in a facility that falls short of community needs.”
