Blacktown Hospital has reached a major milestone in the construction of its car park – the first in NSW with a high-tech parking guidance system – under the $700 million expansion of the hospital.
Minister for Health Brad Hazzard today attended the last pour of concrete at a topping-out ceremony, held on the roof of the five-storey, 414-space car park.
“The one million plus people who attend Blacktown Hospital every year will find parking a lot easier when this new car park opens, bumping the number of available car spaces across the campus up to 1500,” Mr Hazzard said.
“This is on top of car parking concessions the NSW Government brought in on 1 July for public hospital car parks across NSW – including Blacktown Hospital – making it easier and fairer for patients and their families, staff and visitors.
“The NSW Liberals & Nationals Government is investing more than $700 million in the Blacktown Mount Druitt Hospital redevelopment, which will provide bigger and better health services closer to home for western Sydney.
“The redevelopment is expected to deliver more than 7000 jobs and is part of a $7.7 billion record building boom in health services across the state.”
The Blacktown Hospital car park is the state’s first to include parking navigation technology with red and green lights to help drivers find the nearest available space, similar to major shopping centres. Car park users will also benefit from the NSW Health Hospark app that helps visitors find parking information and directions to public hospitals across NSW.
The centrepiece of Stage 2 at Blacktown Hospital, the new Acute Services Building, will include a bigger emergency department with a new dedicated psychiatric emergency care centre, an expanded intensive care unit, a new paediatric service, eight new operating theatres and expanded birthing, maternity and newborn care services.
The Blacktown Mount Druitt Hospital Redevelopment includes extensions at Mount Druitt Hospital to provide expanded facilities for surgery and imaging, and new facilities for community dialysis and addiction medicine.
The car park is due to open in early 2018; the new acute services building is due for completion in 2019 and Stage 2 of Blacktown Hospital is due for completion in 2020.
For more information please visit: www.bmdhproject.health.nsw.gov.au.