Health Minister Brad Hazzard, joined by
the Member for Oatley Mark Coure, Parliamentary
Secretary for Families, Disability and Emergency Services Melanie Gibbons
and Member for Miranda Eleni
Petinos, today officially opened the unit and
met some of its first newborns.
“This modern, state-of-the-art unit has
been carefully designed with
thoughtful
consideration of the needs of
women during childbirth, featuring the very latest
technology and equipment
for maternity care,” Mr Hazzard
said.
“The NSW Government’s $11.5 million upgrade doubles the size of St George
Hospital’s previous birth facilities so that more women in the local community
can access world-class birth facilities and care close to home.”
The upgrade provides eight new birth rooms with deep baths for women in labour,
two acute observation rooms and new neonatal
monitoring technology.
Mr Coure said
the unit is now very close to the operating theatres, two of which were
refurbished as part of the upgrade.
“The NSW Government is delivering on its commitment to provide
world-class healthcare to the people of NSW and this new birth unit is great
news for families of the St George region and beyond,” Mr Coure said.
Ms Gibbons said the birth unit is also co-located to a separate new
Pregnancy Assessment Unit, with its own waiting area and consulting room,
providing extra support to the birth unit.
“This new birth unit will provide exceptional care to the some 2,300
women who give birth at the hospital each year and meet the growing needs of
our local community.”
Ms Petinos said: “This means local mums and their newborns will receive
more timely care and have the best possible experience at this very important
stage of their lives.”
South Eastern Sydney Local Health District
will also benefit from the NSW Government’s
$2.8 billion commitment to recruit a record 8,300 frontline health staff
over the next term, including 5,000 additional nurses and midwives.