The Andrews Labor Government is making sure families in Melbourne’s north west have access to the best possible healthcare, with early works underway and designs revealed for the new Sunbury Community Hospital.

Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas and Member for Sunbury Josh Bull today visited the site of the community hospital to celebrate this important next step for the $675 million Community Hospitals Program.

The Sunbury Community Hospital will be managed by Western Health and is an expansion of the current Sunbury Day Hospital located at 7 Macedon Street in Sunbury. Site works underway include the installation of safety fencing and worker amenities, site scraping and other early works.

When the expansion and upgrade works are complete, the hospital’s capacity will be expanded to provide a greater range of services including medical imaging and pathology services, a pharmacy and a separate reception and waiting area.

These additional services will operate alongside the existing day surgery, chemotherapy and dialysis services available on site.

One of 10 small public hospitals being built across Victoria in some of the state’s fastest growing areas, the facility will help take pressure off nearby major hospitals, including Sunshine Hospital and the Northern Hospital in Epping.

The designs revealed today show the facility’s exterior, main reception, waiting area and treatment areas, which have been carefully considered to create safe and comfortable environments for staff, patients and families.

Community members, Western Health and other key groups helped shape the look and feel of this vital facility through the project’s Community Consultative Committee.

The need for clear signage and wayfinding, use of natural materials and light to create a welcoming environment and protection of patient privacy are some of the priorities that the architects took on board.

The Sunbury Community Hospital is on-track to be completed in 2023 and will be delivered by the Victorian Health Building Authority.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Health, Mary-Anne Thomas

“Today is an important milestone for the program, with site preparation works kicking off to build a facility that will be of huge benefit to the local community.”

“We’re making it easier for Victorians to manage their health needs closer to home, with the development of these new community hospitals across the state.”

Quote attributable to Member for Sunbury Josh Bull

“I’m very pleased to see that the designs reflect the community’s priorities and I want to thank the everyone involved for their valuable input in helping get us a step closer to a great local hospital.”