Buried asbestos material has delayed some of the redevelopment work at Sutherland Hospital – although the $62.9 million project is still due to be completed this year.
The redevelopment project will see a new, three-storey emergency department opened at the hospital.
The emergency department will feature a purpose-built children’s emergency unit among other facilities in the new building.
Construction work began in early 2016 for the new facility and some early reports suggested it would be complete by mid-2017.
South Eastern Sydney Local Health District capital redesign director Cath Whitehurst said the project was now due to be completed towards the end of this year.
She said the structure linking the new building to the existing hospital building had been delayed for a number of reasons.
“These include the need to safely remove buried asbestos material and complex building and staging works to demolish existing and sometimes hidden structures to connect the new building.”
The asbestos was found in buried building material on the site.
However, Ms Whitehurst said the new building looked great and would be a huge benefit to the community.
“The building includes a new emergency short-stay unit, expanded high-dependency and intensive care unit, as well as new and additional general medical and surgical inpatient capacity,” she said.
“The new building will feature a modern design with an emphasis on natural light and warm finishes as well as the creation of courtyards for patients and their carers to relax and enjoy natural landscaping and vistas.
“The inpatient rooms on the northern side of the building also benefit from great views towards the airport and city.”
In addition, hospital refurbishment works include more storage and support space for the theatre department, and refurbishment works to provide an expanded medical imaging service.
The Sutherland Hospital redevelopment follows the completion of a $9.1 million multi-deck car park in 2014.
An additional 140 car parks were also opened in 2015 as part of the current redevelopment, to replace car parking spaces lost to the new hospital expansion.
