News & Events: Media Releases
St George Private Hospital Opens New Wing
1 March 2010
The Hon Robert McLelland, Federal Attorney General, will officially open two new floors of St George Private Hospital today.
Over the last 12 months St George Private Hospital has undergone a multimillion dollar redevelopment and expansion making it now one of the largest private hospitals in Sydney with 270 beds, more than 60 specialist consulting suites and a range of onsite health services.
The development, built by Akalan Projects, includes a 2 storey addition to the existing hospital with one floor of 44 private patient rooms (all with ensuites) and a floor of additional consulting suite space for specialist medical practitioners.
St George Private Hospital is owned and operated by Ramsay Health Care, Australia’s largest and most respected operator of private hospitals. It is collocated with the St George Public Hospital in Kogarah and services the southern Sydney region.
Hospital CEO Tracey Burton said the additional rooms and consulting suites would allow the hospital to meet the growing demand in the community for private hospital services.
“St George Private has continued to expand, getting bigger and better, since opening in 1995. We are pleased to be a leader in clinical care and to provide our patients with the latest technology, nursing and medical expertise as well as the opportunity to recover in excellent accommodation facilities,” Mrs Burton said.
“Our ongoing refurbishment program over the last few years has allowed us to significantly improve our current facilities, but this development will take us into the next decade and allow us to meet the growing demand for private hospital services in the southern Sydney region.
“Our new single rooms will allow us to increase our capacity for medical and surgical patients.”
In 2006, Ramsay Health Care undertook a Masterplan to guide the expansion of St George Private Hospital and acquired key sites adjacent to the Hospital to secure its long term expansion requirements. Stage 1 of the masterplan was completed in 2007 with the opening of Operating Theatre 12 and the Day of Surgery Admission Centre. Stage 2 – the 44 new beds and medical suites - is now complete and ready for occupation.
Mrs Burton said the Hospital had been running a successful recruitment campaign for nursing staff for the new expanded facilities. “We have always been fortunate to attract highly competent, caring and committed staff. The opening of our new Level 4 ward provides the opportunity for increase the number of great staff members in our team.”
Kogarah Mayor Nick Varvaris and Local State Member Cherie Burton will also be present at the official opening, joining Paul Ramsay and Chris Rex from Ramsay Health Care Board, to celebrate the next phase of the Hospital’s development.
KEY FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT THE STAGE 2 PROJECT
Kogarah Council DA approval: |
December 2008 |
Construction commenced: |
March 2009 |
Builder and Project Manager: |
Akalan Projects Pty Ltd |
Architect: |
Health Science Planning Consultants (HSPC) |
Medical Suites Fitout Builder |
Intelligent Project Delivery Australia (IPDA) |
Hospital Project Manager: |
Gayle Finn - Senior Nurse Manager and Planner who has worked with the Hospital since its opening in 1995 |
Ramsay Health Care Development Manager: |
Angus Bradley |
Project Cost $15 mil
Using innovative construction techniques, Akalan and their team of highly experienced contractors undertook the full construction program without causing any significant disruption to the Hospital’s daily activities. Gayle Finn, the Hospital’s Project Manager said “Akalan’s careful approach meant we were able to minimise impact on our patients and continue operating as normal every single day. The use of a mobile crane each weekend was particularly successful in avoiding disruption for our patients, staff and doctors”
Throughout the project, Akalan worked closely with the Hospital, often on a day-today basis, to better understand the Hospital’s needs and operations, not only to minimise disruption, but also to improve the final product for the Hospital. Angus Bradley, Ramsay Health Care NSW Development Manager believes it is this approach that has ensured such an exceptional outcome for this project. “Akalan’s careful and considered approach to construction and their process of continuous review and improvement in design have resulted in exceptional patient rooms and support facilities which will truly meet the expectations of our patients and their families for a state-of-the-art private hospital.” This is Akalan’s 10th Hospital project with Ramsay Health Care and we are delighted and thrilled with the outcome.”
Project Enhancements
44 new single rooms and 12 new specialist consulting suites plus systems upgrades across the Hospital.
The Hospital will now be able to offer almost 70% of our patients the comfort and extra privacy of a single room when they stay overnight at the Hospital. The new ward on level 4 will accommodate patients to be treated by our leading Oncologists, Neurosurgeons, Urologists and Plastic Surgeons.
The project has been the catalyst for a number of upgrades across the Hospital including a new state of the art Nurse Call system for the benefit of staff and our patients of course. Similarly a new television and entertainment system has been installed across the Hospital with patients now able to access Foxtel and WiFi for seamless internet access.
“Our focus is always on patient care and comfort so we are delighted to have the Hospital system upgrade underway with the new TV system and nurse call features that will help our staff be even more responsive” Tracey Burton, Hospital Chief Executive Officer said “soon we’ll also have a complete fleet of all electric beds giving patients greater control of their comfort”.
12 new Specialist Consulting Suites have also been included in the Hospital’s expansion project. St George Private Hospital and Medical Complex now includes over 60 Specialists Consulting Suites plus a comprehensive range of on site diagnostic and support services. Christopher Rex, Managing Director of Ramsay Health Care said “St George Private Hospital is one of very few centres in Australia where such a broad range of highly skilled specialists, supported by the Hospital and diagnostic services they need can operate together in a single facility providing exceptional levels of multidisciplinary expertise and care to their patients”.
The new Suites have been purchased by a range of doctors who offer various speciality services at the Hospital including Cardiology, Orthopaedics, Gastroenterology, Neurosurgical and Spinal Care plus Weight Loss and Upper GI surgery.
Dr John Jorgensen, a leading surgeon in his field of Upper GI and Bariatric surgery said “It’s been tremendous to design our new consulting space with the complex and comprehensive needs of our patients in mind. Our rooms now accommodate a range of disciplines involved in the patients’ care and an education facility so everyone is armed with the information they need to do the best they can for their own health – pre and post surgery”.
KEY FACTS AND FIGURES - ST GEORGE PRIVATE HOSPITAL
Opened |
1 November 1995 |
Located |
1 South Street Kogarah – adjacent to the St George Hospital and part of the major medical precinct of Kogarah |
Size and Scope |
|
Services
St George Private offers a highly comprehensive range of specialties and services. Over 32,000 patient are admitted each year to be cared for by our talented staff (920 staff) and experienced specialists doctors (200+ active specialists). Services range from routine day only admissions, through to major and complex surgeries in the following key specialities.
- Cardiology, Cardiac Catheterisation and Cardiac Surgery
- Orthopaedics and Spinal Surgery
- Neurosurgery
- Urology
- Oncology and Haematology (Including Day Chemotherapy Centre)
- General Surgery including Upper GI and Bariatric (weight loss) Surgery
- Breast Surgery
- Gastroenterology
- Gynaecology including advanced laparoscopic surgery
- Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
- ENT and Head and Neck Surgery
- Maternity Services including a level 2 Special Care Nursery
With the Hospital’s Stage 2 expansion now complete, the Hospital will be working towards implementing a new range of acute medical services, opening a new dedicated Medical ward in time for winter this year. “It’s important that the Hospital keeps growing and developing new care capabilities so that we can keep caring for our local community as their health care needs change and grow. Whether its through new technology like Nuclear Medicine’s newly installed gamma camera or new wards, like level 4 we are committed to providing great care to the people of this area” Mrs Burton said.
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