A milestone moment occurred in the history of the Bass Coast today when the first services opened in the new $115 million Wonthaggi Hospital.
Bass Coast Health (BCH) CEO Jan Child celebrated the opening of Main Reception at 7am, with the Emergency Department (ED), Short Stay Unit and Radiology opening at 10am.
“Our community and staff have been looking forward to this day since we first began planning for the expanded hospital more than four years ago,” she said.
“The new hospital is an amazing facility that is ground-breaking for Wonthaggi and will enable us to grow our services and treat more patients closer to their homes.
“For the first time in history, the hospital has a purpose-built Emergency Department that will serve the community, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for decades to come.
“The new Main Reception is so spacious and light, and embodies everything that this new hospital is built for: delivering healthcare of the future.”
Patients were relocated from the previous emergency department in Armitage House in the lead-up to the official opening at 10am.
The first patient to be treated in the ED was Chris Larsen of Phillip Island, who sustained a neck injury after diving into a sandbank.
“I was seen really quickly and everyone was just so happy. All the staff are over the moon and the new Emergency Department just makes for a better experience. It’s just so more airy, open and fresh. It’s so spacious and makes you feel more relaxed,” she said.
The new Emergency Department has general cubicles, resuscitation cubicles, a behavioural assessment room, a plaster room and a procedure room. Larger patients are catered for by a designated bariatric cubicle and there are high acuity cubicles for particularly ill patients. Children will be treated in the designated paediatric cubicle and there are isolation cubicles for those with infectious conditions.
Ms Child said the preparation was “just so well planned and executed” and led to a smooth transition of services across to the new hospital.
“What a magnificent facility our staff have delivered to our community,” she said.
People wishing to access the ED in the new hospital can do so by entering the hospital grounds from Graham Street and parking in the main carpark.
They can then follow the signs to the ED – look for the big red ‘Emergency’ sign – and enter via the dedicated entry and present to ED reception.
The Short Stay Unit is part of the ED and is for patients requiring an overnight stay for observation or to receive treatment such as physiotherapy the next day.
Main Reception for the new and existing hospital now operates from the new hospital. Patients and visitors can park in the front park and enter the door marked ‘Main Entry’.
“The new Main Entry is now how people enter the hospital for Radiology, Pathology, the Acute Ward, Surgery and Maternity,” Ms Child said.
“Our staff and volunteers are on hand to help you to find your way and there are many signs to guide you. Patients and visitors will be impressed by the many photos of iconic local scenes such as the trestle bridge at Kilcunda that will help them to find their way.”
Allied Health services, including Dental, will still be accessible via the Ambulatory Care entry in the current hospital.
The current main entrance is now closed to the public and will be renovated in January to provide for another corridor linking the new and current hospitals.
The Acute Ward will move into the expanded hospital early January and Theatre will relocate late January/early February.
From next Wednesday 14 December, Armitage House, where the Emergency Department was previously located, will house the sub-acute services of rehabilitation and palliative care.
Those services are now located in Sleeman Ward within the hospital, which will be used by BCH’s Learning and Development team from Friday 16 December.