Opening date for new Women's Hospital now set in stone

Visiting the hospital site to unveil a foundation stone with Health Minister Daniel Andrews, Premier John Brumby said the new nine-storey RWH will provide world-class facilities for Victorian women and newborn babies in a family-friendly, home-like environment.

The new foundation stone is being set beside five other foundation stones from the Royal Women’s Hospital’s past.Mr Brumby said the history of the Royal Women’s Hospital was important as Victoria looked to the future with the $250 million new hospital.

“The new Women’s will provide Victorian families with some of the world’s best maternity services and facilities,” Mr Brumby said. “It will welcome more than 5000 babies into the world each year, and care for more than 2000 premature and ill babies in neonatal and special care nurseries,” he said.

“It will perform 12,000 operations and 11,000 day procedures annually, and provide extensive outpatient, women’s health, pregnancy day-care and breastfeeding education and support services.

“It will provide the latest in comfort, amenity and services. Some 50 per cent of all rooms will be single bed rooms, and the remaining rooms will have a maximum of two beds. The new Royal Women’s Hospital is a hospital all Victorians can be proud of.”

Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the new hospital would continue to provide high-quality health care as well as continuing to develop its reputation as a specialist care centre.

“This is a hospital to rank with the best in terms of the latest care, the most family-friendly facilities the design that includes capacity to meet future increases in demand,” Mr Andrews said.

“Victoria is one of the safest places in the world to have a baby, because of the professionalism of staff and the record funding and state-of-the-art facilities delivered by this Government. Since 1999, we have increased hospital funding by 96 per cent.

“We have achieved a lot, but there are always new challenges to address. “In last year’s budget we allocated: $35.3 million to grow maternity services; $10 million for the Rural Maternity Initiative which enables mothers to have access to midwives involved in their care from start to finish; and the $2.6 million for the Maternity Service Program development grant, which provides for midwife home visiting and extra antenatal services.

“Today is an exciting day for all Victorians as we get our first ‘sneak peek’ at the new hospital, a hospital that is typical of this Brumby Government’s ongoing $4.2 billion infrastructure program that will give all Victorians access to high-quality health services no matter where they live.”