The Labor Party has gone one better than the Coalition in promising funding to continue the rebuilding of St George Hospital.
Labor leader Michael Daley said a state Labor government would match the Coalition's $385 commitment to stage three and provide an extra $10 million to give the hospital the capacity to perform robotic precision surgery.
Mr Daley said the robotic surgery would focus on urology, general surgery, gynaecology, thoracic and ear, nose and throat surgery.
"It is the surgery of the future - it gets people in and out of hospital quicker, and there is less risk of infection," he said.
Mr Daley said patients would also benefit from Labor's previously announced promise to introduce a nurse to patient ratio system for emergency, maternity, medical and surgical and paediatric wards.
Mr Daley made the funding commitment outside the hospital on Monday with health spokesman Walt Secord, MPs Chris Minns (Kogarah) and Steve Kamper (Rockdale) and Labor's candidate for Oatley Lucy Mannering.
The pledge came two weeks after Premier Gladys Berejiklian promised $385 million to provide the major trauma centre with a new ambulatory care unit, outpatient and day surgery services, a new day rehabilitation unit and more sub-acute inpatient beds.
Mr Secord the decision to include a further $10 million for robotic surgery equipment on top of what the Premier announced followed discussions with doctors at the hospital.
"They said there is one thing the government missed - 'we want to enhance robotics surgery, that is precision, pinhole surgery'," he said.
"I said, 'OK, we can do better than the Liberals on this and give you what you want".
Mr Secord said the robotic surgery facilities would establish St George Hospital as the referral hospital for specific surgeries within the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District.
Mr Minns said Labor's promised nurse-patient ratio system would make a big difference throughout the hospital.
He said he and Mr Kamper were constantly hearing complaints about staffing levels.
"We hear horror stories about long waiting times, particularly in the emergency and ICU units," he said.
"The nurse to patient ratio announcement means that not only will there be a glittering building at St George, but that it will also be staffed appropriately," he said.
"An under-appreciated thing about St George Hospital is that it is basically a city.
"It's a hospital that services not just the St George community but every emergency and intensive care patint right down to beyond Bega," he said.
"It has been hosted in this community for a long time and deserves this investment."
Mr Kamper said the hospital was "under enormous pressure and that’s why we need innovative solutions like robotic surgery to help improve healthcare for local patients".
Ms Mannering said, “Bringing robotic surgery to St George Hospital will improve patient outcomes, save money in the long term and help bring our hospital into the 21st century.”
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said Labor's nurse-patient ratio policy "puts industrial demands before patients, and risks the closure of hospital wards across the state".
"Labor would abolish the flexibility at the heart of the NSW health system, which allows our hardworking nurses to ensure all patients receive world-class care," he said.
"In 2011, former Labor Health Minister Carmel Tebbutt said, 'The government does have concerns about a blunt nurse-to-patient ratio tool because it lacks the flexibility that is often needed to staff a modern hospital'."
Mr Hazzard said Labor had "plagiarised" another Coalition policy with its promised funding for St George Hospital.
"This is the fourth time they’ve done this in the past month," he said.
"It is another demonstration Labor has no ideas, policies or vision for NSW."
Oatley MP Mark Coure said, during his time as the local member, the Coalition government had invested more than $700 million to upgrade St George Hospital.
