Epworth HealthCare announces $350m redevelopment
Epworth HealthCare has announced a $350m major redevelopment of their leading not-for-profit private hospital in Richmond. The hospital will be redeveloped and expanded to provide world class facilities with an extra 270 inpatient beds including emergency department beds further enhancing the excellence of care provided for its patients.
The Group Chief Executive Alan Kinkade confirmed today that the application lodged with the City of Yarra is to upgrade and expand facilities at Epworth Richmond in line with Victorians’ expectations of timely access to private hospital rooms to meet their medical, surgical and rehabilitation needs. Purpose built facilities will promote collaboration between teaching, research and clinical care.
“Overall, the plans provide for an exciting vision that includes 430 new private rooms with 160 of the poorer quality beds being replaced; a new emergency department; 17 new operating theatres and 19 extra beds in new state-of-the-art Intensive Care and Coronary Care Units. Significantly expanded cancer services have also been incorporated,” Mr Kinkade said. “New rehabilitation facilities will extend the specialist rehabilitation and trauma services for people across Victoria.”
“Currently we run at full capacity and have to care for some patients in shared wards. While our chemotherapy and the renal dialysis services provide excellent care, the facilities are poor and in great demand. Our priority is to increase the number of beds in response to demand and for patients to be more comfortable in private rooms.”
Mr Kinkade added that Epworth’s expansion and redevelopment will create more than 1440 new jobs in the construction phase and over 400 extra full-time staff at the hospital when the project is completed.
The proposed redevelopment will be built on the existing site between Bridge Road and Erin Street in four stages over seven years. The Richmond building will rise by five levels at Erin Street and by three stories at in the Bridge Road façade. Widened footpaths and a new streetscape are planned for Erin Street along with over 392 new on-site car spaces in a new underground car park that links the Erin Street buildings with the existing Bridge Road basement car park.
Environmental sustainability has been considered with respect to the building orientation, facade treatment and building fabric. Fresh air systems, rainwater recycling and waste reduction have been planned wherever possible. 131 bicycle parking spaces are provided.
“Council has invited the local community to give their feedback on the proposed redevelopment at an information session on Tuesday 21 April and we have also offered the opportunity for people to attend a series of community consultations that Epworth has organised,” Mr Kinkade said. “We believe that this is good for the community, good for health services and an important initiative for teaching and research.”
Richmond GP David Marsh - Founder of the Marsh Foundation following the Bali bombings - welcomed the plans for Epworth’s redevelopment.
“I have already received very positive feedback from a significant proportion of the local community about this development. Epworth has not only been my hospital of choice for the last 25 years, but it is arguably one of the best hospitals in the Southern Hemisphere,” Dr Marsh said.
Epworth has sought $75 million Federal Government funding from the $5 billion Health and Hospital Fund program. If this submission is successful it would enable the construction to be brought forward by two years, creating more jobs sooner which would assist the broader community in these times.
Epworth facilities located across Melbourne include Box Hill (Epworth Eastern), East Melbourne (Epworth Freemasons), and Camberwell, Brighton and Thornbury (Epworth Rehabilitation).
During 2007-08 more than 204,000 in-patients and outpatients received specialist care from 4000 staff, 1600 medical specialists and 200 volunteers.