The multimillion-dollar expansion of the west’s only private hospital is nearly complete.
Western Private Hospital, on Eleanor Street next to the public Footscray Hospital, now crosses the road in a redevelopment set to double the number of beds to 68.
A new three-storey complex, including ground floor consulting suites, pathology and pharmacy, is due to open in September.
Linked to the existing hospital by an enclosed passageway bridge, the first and second floors will contain six new intensive-care unit beds and 21 cardiac services beds, along with a brand new cardiac catheter laboratory. Chief executive and director of nursing Vicki Canning said the development would also bring the first Positron emission tomography (PET) scanner to the west.
She said the new nuclear medicine department would save cancer patients from travelling long distances for treatments. “This will complement the oncology services already offered by the hospital, which include surgical, chemotherapy and radiotherapy oncology.”
Ms Canning said the redevelopment reflected a high demand for services in the west.
“This is the first major expansion we have had in the 20 years that we have been open,” she said. “This has been years in the planning; it is only the first stage in our expansion.”
Ms Canning said as well as responding to specific patient and medical staff needs, the works included a strong focus on environmentally sustainable design.
The hospital will continue to work in partnership with Footscray Hospital and on-site tenants Radiation Oncology Victoria, Capital Radiology and Melbourne Pathology, which will have an on-site laboratory in the new building.
The expansion will also boost employment with an anticipated doubling of nursing
staff.
