By Matt Kean
Welcome to 2021!
I am pleased to be writing my first article for the Galston, Glenorie Community News. I hope everyone was able to enjoy the break and spend some time with family. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our frontline health workers who were extremely busy over the festive season. Thank you for everything you do to keep our community safe.
I wanted to update the community on what is happening at Hornsby Hospital. Late last year we saw the opening of the new Pharmacy and ICU. Hornsby Hospital is the first NSW Public Hospital to have a robotic pharmacy which allows pharmacists to select and dispense medications and conduct stocktakes faster.
The new ICU is now three times the size and is a purpose-built department that includes single patient rooms, with large observation windows and a large staff station.
This new Intensive Care Unit brings Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital into the 21st century by ensuring the building matches the superior care the clinicians deliver.
We have also released the new Schematic Design for the Stage 2 Redevelopment which shows how the additional services, which I announced at the last state election, will be incorporated into the Clinical Services Building.
We had already invested $200 million into the new building but the staff told us that we needed to go further, so we did. This additional $65 million will ensure the amazing staff at Hornbsy Hospital have everything they need to provide our community with the highest possible care not just now but into the future.
The additional funds will allow for a consolidation of community health services, along with the expansion of outpatient services which will enable the Hospital to provide chemotherapy services and renal dialysis for the first time. There will also be new oral health and BreastScreen centres and the fit-out of two rehabilitation inpatient units. The Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre will also be expanded and a helipad will be provided which avoids the need for patients to arrive at nearby James Park.
