The Wonthaggi Hospital Expansion (WHE) will eventually offer the community a broad range of additional services.
However, it’s important to note that not all of the new hospital areas will be used for their long-term purpose when the facility opens in December.
The new Wonthaggi building has been designed to be future-proofed and some spaces will be used for their designated purpose in the coming months and years. An example of that is the fast-track space in the new ED which will accommodate other programs such as our Hospital in the Home Service, until demand hits a peak where the space is required for emergencies. In the interim, fast-track services will be provided from the many ED cubicles now available.
The move into the WHE will take place in stages, with the aim to have surgical and medical inpatients into the third floor in December.
Acute medical and surgical patients will be cared for in the third floor of the new hospital until around June 2023, when we complete the renovations to the medical ward in the existing hospital. After this, surgical and medical patients will be cared for in separate wards: surgical patients in the WHE ward and medical patients (with general illness) in the acute ward in the existing hospital.
The Emergency Department, Short Stay Unit and radiology will move into the WHE in December. This will allow for Sub-acute patients to move from Sleeman Ward in the existing hospital to Armitage House in late December. Until this time, the ED will remain in Armitage House and access will continue to be via Baillieu Street West.
Surgery will be undertaken in the new theatres in the WHE from mid-January.
Main reception will move into the WHE
The main reception will move from the old hospital to the new hospital in December, and the old reception will be closed off to the public, ready for its makeover.
Main reception and public entry to all services in the expanded and existing hospital will be via the new main entry in the new hospital.
Once in the new main reception, members of the public will be directed to where they want to go by staff and volunteers. Staff or volunteers will be stationed on each level of the hospital to help people find their way. New signage will also be in place.
Consumers will be able to access services in the existing hospital, such as pathology and maternity, by entering the main reception within the new building, accessing the first floor via a lift, and then following the link down the corridor to the existing hospital. A different link to the existing hospital will be opened after the renovations to the front foyer are complete (around March), allowing more direct access in the future.
The Emergency Department (ED) will have a separate entry. Both main reception and the ED are easily accessible, with a driveway allowing patients to be delivered straight to the door. Carparking will be available in the front carpark and seating available in the drop-off area.
Patients will be impressed by the grand main reception, which is spacious and filled with natural light due to large windows that span multiple levels.
Bass Coast Health has made it easier for the public to find their way around the WHE, with signs placed at strategic locations around the facility.
Members of the public, including our Community Advisory Committee, have tested the signs to ensure they are simple to follow.
We thank all the community members who have informed the design of the WHE, including Ambulance Victoria and consumers, to ensure our new hospital serves our community as best as possible.