After nearly three years of construction work and a series of unavoidable delays, Northern NSW Local Health District has confirmed that its latest ‘jewel in the crown’, the $723.3 million Tweed Valley Hospital, is on track for an opening in early 2024.
Since the main works started on the new Tweed Valley Hospital, a number of external pressures have affected the construction schedule. These include the COVID-19 pandemic, the February 2022 floods, construction industry labour shortages and global supply chain interruption.
After construction is completed, many commissioning activities are essential to ensuring the hospital and its staff are ready to safely receive patients. These include installing furniture, fixtures and equipment, as well as completing clinical cleans and stocking departments with medical consumables in preparation for receiving patients. Staff orientation, inductions and training phases are also important.
Health Infrastructure and Northern NSW Local Health District are working closely with the construction contractor as the hospital progresses through the final stages of construction, which is expected to be complete later this year, followed by the operational commissioning.
The Tweed Valley Hospital will be a major referral hospital at the heart of the network of hospitals and health facilities across the Tweed-Byron region. It will reduce the need for 5,000 patients to travel outside the region each year to receive treatment.
More information on the Tweed Valley Hospital development is avialable at the hospital's website at NSW Health.
