News

Ramsay Announce New Private Hospital for Wollongong - Opening 2015

Sep 01, 2013

Australia's largest private hospital operator, Ramsay Health Care has announced a new 150-bed private hospital for Wollongong, adjacent to the Wollongong Public Hospital, to open in 2015.

The new private hospital will occupy 4.5 floors of an 8-storey, $90 million medical precinct development being built by AA Crown Holdings. The development, already approved by the NSW Department of Planning, will also house 4000sqm of medical suites, diagnostic services, primary health care services and substantial car parking in a three level subterranean car park.

The private hospital will include all major services including an intensive care unit, nine operating theatres, a cardiac catheter laboratory and a day oncology unit. It will offer the full range of medical, surgical and maternity services.

It is expected to set a new benchmark in private hospital facilities for Wollongong with plans for the hospital to have majority private rooms with ensuites, state-of-the-art theatres and well-equipped critical care units.

Ramsay Health Care Chief Executive Officer Chris Rex said the development would be a significant boost to the private health care services in Wollongong and would bring jobs to the community.

"This new private hospital for Wollongong is ideally located close to the public hospital and will bring much needed new private health care services to the Illawarra region. Importantly, it will provide enhanced and expanded hospital services for the region and this will further negate the need for patients to travel into Sydney for their medical care," Mr Rex said.

Ramsay Health Care currently operates the 101-bed Figtree Private Hospital but with the lease expiring in 2015, the Company has been investigating options for the future delivery of private hospital services in the region.

"Figtree Private Hospital has provided an excellent service to the community over many years but the expansion of Figtree, with its ageing infrastructure and in its current location approximately 5kms from Wollongong's medical hub, was not ideal.

"This new private hospital in the centre of Wollongong will effectively replace the medical, surgical and maternity services at Figtree Private Hospital and allow us to increase the size by another 48 beds.

"We are looking forward to providing a new hospital to the specialist doctors and staff who have been working with us at Figtree."

He said Ramsay would now consider its options for the Figtree Private Hospital premises together with the landlord AU, following the establishment of the new private hospital and would consider offering other services from the campus such as rehabilitation.

Figtree Private Hospital will continue to provide its current services until the opening of the new private hospital in Wollongong which is expected to be in October 2015.

Features of the new development include:

• 133 overnight ward accommodation beds (majority private rooms with ensuites)
• 10 bed ICU/CCU
• 6 Cot Special Care Nursery
• 8 Chair Day oncology unit
• 9 Full Operating Theatres
• 1 Procedure Room
• 1 hybrid angiography laboratory (convertible to hybrid theatre)
• 4 Delivery Suites