By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
DEPUTY Premier and parliamentary member for Monbulk James Merlino attended the Angliss Hospital on Monday 21 March to unveil the plans for the hospital’s new development.
The $20 million expansion of Angliss Hospital will go to tender for construction in May with the project scheduled to begin in July this year and be complete by the middle of 2019.
The expansion will see a new fourth floor added to the hospital, housing a 14-bed intensive care unit.
Angliss Hospital’s chief of clinical and site operations Ben Kelly said the expansion would allow the hospital to provide quality healthcare to patients that is close to home.
“This will improve the flexibility and capability of the hospital and will mean fewer patients will need to be transferred to hospitals like Box Hill,” Mr Kelly said.
The development will also see the rest of the hospital upgraded to be bought up-to-date with other Eastern Health hospitals.
Included in the development will be six new short stay beds to compliment the emergency department that was upgraded in 2004.
“Short stay is an important part of this hospital,” Mr Kelly said.
“Eastern Health sees 150,000 people a year present at emergency and Angliss hospital accounts for 40,000 of these short stay patients.”
The upgrade will also see the paediatrics department refurbished and capacity for under-aged patients increased from four to eight.
Mr Merlino said improving the Angliss hospital would mean members of the community would have the healthcare they needed where they needed it.
“This is a very important commitment and I’m just delighted to see it happening,” he said.
“Hospitals like the Angliss need continual investment because people need this healthcare near to where they live.”
Specialist healthcare architects Silver Thomas Hanley have designed the hospital development to blend with the natural surroundings of the Dandenong Ranges.
