The major NSW political parties have pledged to spend $434 million on upgrading the Shoalhaven Hospital at Nowra.
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This is a “band-aid” solution according to Greens Candidate for Kiama Nina Digiglio and Greens Candidate for South Coast Kim Stephenson.
Rather than upgrading the existing building, they want to see a brand new hospital built near the university at West Nowra.
Their calls for a new hospital follow Nowra resident Bill Hancock’s push for a similar idea to be implemented on the Princes Hwy at South Nowra on the land at the corner of BTU and Forest roads.
In the Greens’ vision, costing an extra $50 million, the existing hospital would be transformed into a rehabilitation, mental health, detox and rehab, or palliative care facility.
Ms Stephenson praised staff for personal encounters at the hospital, where she was treated in a “friendly and caring” manner, and hopes to make their jobs easier.
“The South Coast needs a state of the art hospital, including large in-house training capabilities with strong partnerships with the University of Wollongong, and separate mental health emergency intakes to reduce wait times and provide care in a safe and specialised manner,” Ms Stephenson said.
“We need specialists of all fields in residence – no more transports to Wollongong or Sydney, adequate staff to patient ratios and new environmental practices for waste reduction which is a concern for doctors and nurses.”
Ms Digiglio, a specialised health practitioner in contact with key hospital staff, does not want a hospital upgrade rushed through.
“A purpose-built, best-practice health facility will serve the community properly well into the future and attract qualified health professionals to the region,” Ms Digiglio said.
“I support action now in community consultation before the planning process commences to determine how we can build something truly worthwhile rather than patch up an outdated institution.”
Greens’ costings have emerged from studying the cost of recent new hospital developments.
Ms Digiglio and Ms Stephenson believe the hospital at West Nowra could be the answer to the following problems:
- Numerous services are not provided from the Shoalhaven hospital
- Ambulances have difficulty navigating the traffic around the town centre and getting quickly in and out of town
- The high level of tourism to the area brings with it additional health needs that require treatment
- The high-traffic highway contributes to a significant number of traffic emergencies
- There are no mental health in-patient facilities, no detox and rehabilitation facilities, and no easily-accessible palliative care facilities.
