Tara Murray
Work on the new Sunshine Private Hospital is set to get under way next month.
Plans for the hospital were unveiled last Wednesday at an information evening for key local and state government representatives, and stakeholders
The $140 million private facility will be built directly opposite the Sunshine hospital on Furlong Road and is due for completion in late 2022. Works are scheduled to begin on April 27.
Australian Unity’s general manager healthcare property, Chris Smith, said the occasion was a historic event.
“There is no other catchment area in Australia with such a strong case for a new state-of-the-art private hospital,” Mr Smith said.
“Australian Unity is proud to be making history in Melbourne’s west.
“We know that the older population in Western Melbourne is forecast to grow by 153 per cent by 2036, compared with 96 per cent in the rest of the state.
“More than one-quarter of Melbourne’s western suburbs residents have private health insurance.”
He said Sunshine Private Hospital’s modern design and business model will enable it to take advantage of short-stay and day procedure specialist groups such as orthopaedics, ophthalmology, plastic surgery and ear, nose and throat surgery.
The facility will also focus on the treatment of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorders, including inpatient and outpatient support programs.
The new hospital is attracting some of Australia’s best medical specialists and will create 530 jobs at its completion.
The development will include a 30-bed medical and surgical ward, endoscopy suite, high dependency beds and a mental health inpatient unit.
Modelling data by Hardes & Associates estimates that once operational, the hospital will conduct 10,000 day and 3500 overnight procedures per year.
The hospital will be within the state government’s Sunshine Health, Wellbeing and Education precinct which includes the Sunshine hospital, the new Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital and a $51 million health teaching and training campus.
The proposed Metro Tunnel and the new Sunshine transport super-hub is also expected to bring patients to the area on public transport from regional centres such as Geelong, Ballarat, and Bendigo.
