![An artist's impression of the new Shellharbour hospital, with alterations showing the new cost of the project. File picture An artist's impression of the new Shellharbour hospital, with alterations showing the new cost of the project. File picture](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/4588b50e-3437-4d1a-b1c2-dfad4b5c40fc.jpg/r0_0_2400_1349_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The new Shellharbour Hospital will cost $60 million more than initially allocated by the NSW Government, taking the project total to just under $800 million.
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NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the extra money for Shellharbour was among hundreds of millions of dollars needed to deliver ongoing redevelopments, also at Eurobodalla, Temora, Liverpool, Westmead, Moree, Nepean and Cessnock.
Mr Park said he found the $60 million shortfall when reviewing the budget for Shellharbour hospital, which started under the previous government.
Mr Park said vital services - like the emergency department, ICU and medical imaging - would have been jeopardised if the budget did not increase.
He took aim at the previous government, including former Liberal minister and Kiama MP Gareth Ward, for not setting aside adequate funding for hospital projects due to cost escalation across the construction sector since 2020.
He said the government was getting tender quotes for infrastructure projects that were more than 15 and up to 30 per cent higher than estimates.
"This is yet another example of how the previous Liberal National Government left a ticking timebomb for someone else to clean up," he said.
"If we didn't act, the health services provided at this hospital would have been jeopardised and the people of Shellharbour left worse off because of the underinvestment and neglect of Gareth Ward and the Liberals and Nationals."
"Today, we are acting to ensure that this hospital meets the needs of the community and to deliver the services they deserve."
Mr Ward said it was no surprise that a project announced in 2020 would have had costs increase over the last four years.
"For Ryan's benefit, that's called inflation, and it's not a new concept," he said.
"It's been made worse due to global supply chain shortages which have exacerbated by COVID and this is especially the case in all infrastructure projects.
"Whilst it sounds like a large number, $60 million in capital is modest compared to other cost increases in the health portfolio."
Mr Ward, along with many in the community, has been calling on the hospital to include a helipad and birthing services and said those should also be funded in the hospital project.
"Do it once and do it right," he said.
"It's simply unacceptable that a new hospital like Shellharbour won't have birthing services for mum's and families in a fast growing region."
'Labor need to stop whinging and start delivering for the Illawarra."
![The Shellharbour hospital site in Dunmore. File picture The Shellharbour hospital site in Dunmore. File picture](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HcD9H4nNcktxiWcmkEEpQD/bd4feb8c-5dbe-466c-963e-9a1926bd9c93.jpg/r0_242_5184_3157_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
$3.4 billion for health infrastructure
Mr Park said the government would be investing $3.4 billion into health infrastructure in next week's budget, which was vital for the health system and jobs across the state.
This includes nearly $400 million in additional funds for ongoing redevelopments, and an extra $250 million for a critical maintenance program at hospitals and health facilities across NSW.
"These infrastructure projects and the range of health services that will be provided from them, by our committed and caring health staff, will also help attract more healthcare workers to work in these modern and purpose-built health care facilities across NSW," he said.
"In addition, the jobs that are generated as a result of the opportunities available to builders, tradies and apprentices during the construction phase of all these major health infrastructure projects, is also a valuable economic driver in many of our local communities across the state."
Previously, $721 million had been committed to the new Shellharbour Hospital and Integrated Services project, including $570.6 million from the NSW Government (plus $23.3 million for a new car park) and a federal contribution of $128 million.
The project includes the decommissioning of Port Kembla Hospital, refurbishments at Wollongong and Bulli, and a new Warrawong community health centre.
The main works on the Dunmore Road project are due to start mid-2024, according to NSW Health Infrastructure.
In March, the government said it was still on track to open in 2027.
State's health costs continue to mount
The extra funds needed for health infrastructure adds stress for an increasingly under-pressure government, which last year agreed to give paramedics a 25 per cent pay rise.
Nurses - who make up the largest part of the health workforce - are now also demanding a pay hike of 15 per cent.
Last month, the union served a log of claims seeking the one-year wage rise for nurses and midwives, as well as improvements to conditions including increases to night shift penalty rates and sick leave, and additional funding for minimum staffing ratios.
NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association (NSWNMA) General Secretary Shaye Candish said the state's nurses and midwives were the second worst paid in the country when starting their career, and were also far behind other public sector professions.
"Public sector workers like teachers, paramedics and firefighters are paid significantly more than entry level nurses and midwives," she said.
"Their pay also lags behind almost all other professional and male dominated non-professional occupations."
The NSWNMA has also urged the NSW Treasurer to allocate further funding to the Safe Staffing policy in the upcoming state budget, to put shift by shift nurse-to-patient ratios in all wards and units in all NSW public hospitals.
Meantime, in a bid to ease escalating costs to employ locum doctors through agencies, the government will commit $6.3 million to assess the feasibility of a centralised, government-run locum agency.