Mr Mark Coure today announced an historic road safety milestone has been achieved with more than 2,400 school zone flashing lights having been installed since 2011 meaning every eligible school in NSW is now covered – including those in the St George area

NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian and Health Minister Jillian Skinner today visited St George Hospital to announce the fast-tracking of construction of the Acute Services Building.

Ms Berejiklian and Mrs Skinner were joined by local MPs Mark Coure (Oatley), Mark Speakman (Cronulla), Eleni Petinos (Miranda) and Lee Evans (Heathcote) to view the site where construction work on the new seven-level Acute Services Building has commenced.

“The NSW Government will accelerate construction of the Acute Services Building to complete it up to six months earlier than projected. Fast-tracking of the project will save taxpayers about $30 million without any reduction in the size of the project or the clinical services delivered,” Ms Berejiklian said.

The estimated total cost of the redevelopment, including the Acute Services Building, is now $277 million. Construction is expected to be completed by mid-2017, with commissioning to follow.

“St George Hospital is a shining example of our determination to rebuild the state’s ageing health infrastructure. We delivered a new $41 million emergency department in 2014 and we will deliver the Acute Services Building ahead of time and under budget,” Mrs Skinner said.

The new Acute Services Building will include a new intensive care department, eight new operating theatres, about 120 new inpatient beds, two cardiac catheter laboratories, a new sterilising service department and a new helipad.

Mr Coure said: “There’s a real sense of excitement around St George Hospital as staff and patients watch us delivering on our promise to build a state-of-the-art hospital of which we can all be proud.”

To view the redevelopment, go to http://www.stgeorgehospitalredev.health.nsw.gov.au/