A BIGGER Bathurst Hospital is coming, but will there be enough staff to run it?
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Deputy Premier and Member for Bathurst Paul Toole has provided his answer to that question, which continues to be raised in discussions around the $200 million redevelopment of the facility.
The master plan for the hospital was unveiled on Thursday, February 23, showing the expansion zones for the hospital over the next four years.
This will allow for the delivery of an expanded emergency department and maternity services, along with improved paediatrics, mental health, inpatient and outpatient services.
Daffodil Cottage will also be expanded, and dedicated palliative care beds are planned to be part of the redevelopment.
At the announcement of the master plan, Mr Toole was pressed about staffing for the hospital once the redevelopment has occurred.
He pointed to the NSW government's $4.5 billion plan to bring on more than 10,000 new healthcare workers over the next four years, 38 per cent of which are set to be employed in regional and rural NSW.
"There will be an increase of staff here at the Bathurst Hospital," Mr Toole said.
He promised there will be incentives to attract people to the industry, which has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons in recent years.
"We know it's a challenge right now," he said.
"It's not only a challenge here in a place like Bathurst, but it's a challenge right across the country when it comes to attracting health staff. That's why we are actually providing a number of initiatives to attract staff to regional and rural NSW."
Mr Toole said the government is also looking at incentive packages to retain and reward existing health workers.
While he couldn't confirm if Bathurst Hospital would be fully staffed after the redevelopment, he said staffing levels didn't change the fact that services need to grow to accommodate the city's population.
"I think you still need to have an increase in inpatient beds in ICU and maternity wards here as well. You have to have that increase, you have to actually grow," he said.
"The population of Bathurst and the surrounding region is continuing to grow, so you need to make sure you are growing with that.
"And whilst we know we are building a new hospital here, it is also about investing in the people that are going to be working here inside these walls.
"This government has actually spent billions of dollars when it comes to capital investments into hospitals and MPS across the state. This $200 million investment is about making sure that we are building for the future, but also our investment of $4.5 billion over the next four years is about investing in staff.
"That is bringing more health professionals into our communities and Bathurst will be no exception to that."
Public consultation on the master plan for the $200 million redevelopment is currently under way.
The redevelopment is expected to be complete sometime in 2027.
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