28 June 2012

More Hospital beds For South East NSW

The Minister for Health, Jillian Skinner, has announced a major expansion of rehabilitation services for the Eurobodalla Shire with the establishment of a brand new 20 bed rehabilitation facility in Moruya.

The facility is being funded by the Commonwealth Government under the COAG Sub Acute Beds Program.

Minister Skinner said the $11.5 million facility will provide fast and slow stream rehabilitation services to the community with a focus on caring for older people.

"Planning is well underway with the schematic design almost complete," Mrs Skinner said.

"The new services will fill a gap in the current service provision of acute and home based rehabilitation services," she said.

"It will allow a quicker return of patients to their local community after having major procedures at hospitals such as Canberra or Wollongong.

"The new facility will include spaces for therapy treatments, a dining and patient lounge area, gymnasiums, kitchens, bathrooms and laundries, as well as improvements to the existing facility such as staff areas and additional parking."

The Member for Bega, Andrew Constance, said the new building is designed to link seamlessly to the existing hospital.

"I’m very pleased the NSW Government is able to deliver this significant service enhancement to our community," Mr Constance said.

"The new facility is located right on the river front which provides an ideal environment for patients to rehabilitate.

"This is a service we have not been able to offer the community as the building space was never there. The addition of 20 beds at Moruya is a significant increase in the number of hospital beds available in Eurobodalla," he said.

Construction is scheduled to start towards the end of 2012 with the facility finished and occupied by early 2014.