The Shoalhaven Hospital Redevelopment (Redevelopment) will deliver contemporary and expanded hospital services and integrated health facilities for the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District.

The NSW Government has committed $440 million to the Redevelopment and will make it the health hub for the entire region. It will provide the majority of emergency, critical care, acute, subacute and non-admitted services locally, reducing the need to transfer patients to Wollongong and Sydney.

The Redevelopment includes a new building for acute care services, directly connected to the existing hospital.

A $11.8 million new 5 split-level multi-storey car park, which supports the expanded hospital, was completed in 2019.

The redevelopment will deliver state-of-the-art medical care for residents, including a new emergency department, medical wards, dedicated mental health ward, cardiology wards and double the number of surgical services and operating theatres. A new building for acute care services will be directly connected to the existing hospital, which will undergo its own refurbishment.

These new and expanded services will mean more capacity for emergency and elective surgery and access to more specialised staff, equipment and technology. Residents will have access to more services locally so they do not have to leave the region for treatment.

The new hospital will provide:

• A new emergency department (ED) and emergency short-stay unit to improve patient flow and reduce wait times
• New intensive care unit (ICU)
• Theatres and endoscopy procedure rooms, doubling in number
• A dedicated cardiology inpatient unit (IPU), coronary care unit and catheterisation lab
• A new vascular surgery service and expanded orthopaedic, general surgery and urology services
• Overnight surgical IPUs and a dedicated day surgery unit
• New medical IPUs for specialties including gastroenterology, respiratory, oncology, endocrinology and general medicine
• A new acute mental health IPU
• A psychiatric emergency care centre for emergency and crisis response adjacent to the ED
• An expanded acute stroke unit collocated with a dedicated rehabilitation service to improve health outcomes and minimise functional loss
• A new nuclear medicine department to support expanded clinical services including cancer, cardiology and respiratory care
• A new MRI service to provide improved diagnostic capacity
• Expanded medical imaging including CT, X-ray, ultrasound and mammography to support clinical services
• Significant increase in aged care capacity in a dedicated aged care ward
• A sub-acute geriatric evaluation and management service
• An uplifted palliative care service which will have access to co-located specialist care
• A new paediatric assessment unit which will provide additional capacity for day presentations and short stay admissions
• A specialist rehabilitation unit for a range of conditions including stroke, orthopaedics, brain and spine injuries
• Expanded outpatient departments for follow up and management of admitted and non-admitted services
• Helipad on top of the new building with direct access to ICU and ED.

Exposure to the arts has a profoundly beneficial impact, improving patient health and wellbeing and through its use in health promotion and messaging, improving health literacy for individuals and the wider community.

Arts in Health engages artists and uses all art forms including visual, performing, dramatic, literature and heritage arts to connect health services and the communities they serve. It provides opportunities for artists to create socially engaged work through inter-disciplinary collaboration with communities, hospitals, medical science and research, architects, and designers.

Arts in Health supports spaces for First Nations culture by providing opportunities for First Nations artists and organisations, with projects founded in community engagement and consultation.

The arts is an important part of the Shoalhaven Hospital Redevelopment planning, supporting the health and wellbeing of staff, patients, consumers and visitors and we look forward to showcasing the outcomes as we progress through this exciting process.