St George Hospital

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-106195

Hansard session: Fifty-Seventh Parliament, First Session (57-1)

St George Hospital

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (18:24:30):

I inform the House of the opening of the world‑class Cancer Care Centre at the St George Hospital. The opening of the centre showcased the achievements that are possible when community fundraisers and the State Government work together for the health of our local community. I was joined by Mr Phill Bates, AM, for the opening of this $16 million facility, which has doubled the capacity of some cancer treatment services at St George Hospital. The State Government boosted funds raised by the Cancer Care Foundation, which has done an outstanding job gathering support over the past 22 years. The completed works include an atrium‑type construction linking the Cancer Care Centre and the Pitney Building, where many of the medical staff are housed, providing all‑weather access for patients and medical staff. The outpatient clinic has expanded from nine beds to 16 consulting rooms and three new purpose‑built review spaces, taking the number of outpatient clinic spaces to 19. I commend Phill Bates and all involved.

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to visit the construction site for the rebuild of the St George Hospital Birthing Unit and announce that Fugen Constructions has been awarded the contract for its redevelopment. St George Hospital has been a huge passion of mine since becoming the member for Oatley eight years ago. I am happy to inform the House today that construction will commence on the $11.5 million project in the coming months, delivering new birthing suites with fit‑for‑purpose birthing rooms, including water immersion facilities. This announcement follows on from the Premier's election promise in February of $385 million of funding for stage three of the hospital's redevelopment.

This will create a new precinct, including an ambulatory care unit, outpatient and day surgery services, a new rehabilitation unit, increased subacute inpatient beds and a hub for community health and home‑based services. This upgrade will allow the dedicated staff to continue to improve on the exceptional care they already provide to mothers. I am proud to be continually delivering for our local community's healthcare needs by making St George Hospital the State's premier health destination. I look forward to keeping the House informed of its continued redevelopment.

While we are talking about health, I take this opportunity to inform the House once again of the newly opened multimillion‑dollar health training facility at St George TAFE, Kogarah. I was recently joined by the Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, Geoff Lee, to tour the new nursing and aged-care facilities which are part of our Government's ongoing investment in capital works projects across the TAFE network in New South Wales. Health and wellbeing are among the fastest growing courses across TAFE NSW and this is reflected locally, where enrolments have been surging in recent years. These new facilities have been built to reflect current industry standards and practice and will deliver a much-needed increase in local training capacity to match growing demand in the St George area.

Our Government's significant redevelopment of St George Hospital will bring strong demand for a skilled health workforce. I am proud to be part of a government that is committed to expanding training opportunities in the St George area. This multimillion‑dollar investment will help equip students with the real‑world skills they need to excel in the health sector. While we are talking about aged care and health, I thank Georges River Council, particularly Councillor Colleen Symington and Mayor Kevin Greene, for the recently announced and funded footpath along the Henry Lawson Drive Reserve. Improvements to pedestrian access near the busy Peakhurst aged-care facility have now been funded by Roads and Maritime Services [RMS] along with help from Georges River Council.

This is great news for residents, staff and visitors to Peakhurst Lodge who have been calling for improved access for many years, especially during peak times. The RMS has committed $17,000 towards the new footpath through the reserve. This will help the council deliver a new 125-metre long path. The pedestrian link will provide more efficient parking options for visitors by improving access to and from Jacques Avenue. The aged-care home is in a busy area; around 40,000 road users travel along Henry Lawson Drive each day between Padstow Heights and Penshurst. I thank all the residents, nursing staff and visitors for lobbying my office for this much‑needed funding and I thank the RMS and the council for bringing this to my attention.