Premier Chris Minns, Health Minister Ryan Park and Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully joined health workers at the site for a traditional sod turn event to mark the important milestone.

The major milestone follows the recent approval of the State Significant Development Application for the project.

The $940 million RPA Hospital Redevelopment, with over 700 acute beds available at the end of the project, includes:

• Expanded and enhanced emergency department and intensive care units

• With the Hospital’s Emergency Department to expand from 42 treatment spaces to 91 treatment spaces; and
• More than a 50% increase in the Adult Intensive Care bed capacity from 49 Adult ICU beds to 74 Adult ICU beds.

• State-of-the-art operating theatres
• Expanded and improved adult and paediatric inpatient accommodation/beds
• Increased interventional and imaging services.
• Enhanced maternity services and neonatal services.

• With the Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Special Care Nurser increasing capacity by more than 30% from 34 beds to 45 beds.

• Improved signage and landscaping throughout the hospital campus
• A new open garden courtyard

Work on the redevelopment is being carefully planned to ensure clinical services remain operational during construction, while staff and the community will continue to be updated as the project progresses.

The start of major construction marks the completion of enabling works on site, which includes the temporary relocation of the helicopter landing site to the roof of a multi storey carpark located off Hospital Road and Grose Street, on RPA’s western campus.

Chris Minns, Premier of New South Wales, said:

“RPA is one of Australia’s leading hospitals, renowned for its excellence in providing innovative health care and education.”

“It is exciting to see the redevelopment taking shape in the heart of Sydney not only for local inner west residents but for patients right across the state who may require the complex healthcare and cutting-edge services that RPA is renowned for.”

Ryan Park, Minister for Health, said:

“The RPA Hospital redevelopment is a once-in-a-generation project which will continue to deliver world-class healthcare facilities to our communities right across the state,”

“This major investment will enhance access to vital health services including construction of a new 15-storey clinical services building, an expanded emergency department and Intensive Care Unit, more inpatient beds, as well as medical imaging, operating theatres and neonatal areas.

“I want to thank all the clinicians, staff and the community who have been engaged in the planning and design of the redevelopment every step of the way.”

Paul Scully, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, said:

“This State Significant Development approval will deliver the biggest transformation in the RPA hospital’s 140-year history of caring for the community,”

“It is an investment in our future to ensure the growing populations have access to the highest quality health care for years to come.

“The project will generate 1,400 construction jobs and 900 additional health related jobs when it’s complete. I am pleased it will be not only be able to provide high-quality health care it will also be able to give the local economy a boost in the process.”  

For more information visit: www.rparedevelopment.health.nsw.gov.au