News

Work starts on new MBH Paediatric Unit

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 04:57:00

Construction is underway on Mildura Base Hospital’s new $3.8 million Paediatric Unit, with work on the eight-bed unit expected to be finished by the end of the year.

This new unit is a key component in the development of services to young patients and their families and will increase the overall hospital capacity by eight beds, to 178 beds.
MBH Chief Executive Adam Stevenson said he was thrilled to see the project underway.
“The children’s ward will be connected to our medical and surgical unit, but this will be a dedicated area for the provision of services to patients under 16.” Mr Stevenson said.
“Paediatric services is a growing area of demand for us, and it’s far better for children to be cared for in a specialised environment.” he said.
“This project delivers on our goal to enhance the services available to families, so that we are providing the best care, close to home, and also goes some way to expanding the overall capacity of the hospital.”
MBH Paediatrician Dr Suriyanarayanapillai Hariprakash said the new unit would provide a noticeable improvement to services for paediatric patients.
“A specialised Paediatrics Unit, with specialist staff, means more of our young patients can be treated here, close to home, and with the support of their families close by, which is of course so important,” Dr Hariprakash said.
“It’s a state-of-the-art unit – the eight beds are in single rooms, each with an ensuite and importantly there is provision in each room for a parent to sleep over. It means our patients will feel safe and settled, knowing that their parents are close by,” he said.
“From a clinical point of view, stepping up to a fully-fledged Paediatric Unit also means we can recruit and develop our workforce with nursing staff specifically trained in paediatrics and that’s also a very exciting and important step forward.
“We already have four specialist paediatricians here and we’re all excited by the prospect of being able to develop a real sense of ownership of the unit and its delivery of care.”
Recruitment for additional specialist nursing staff positions will begin around the middle of the year.
The $3.882 million project is being funded by the Victorian Government.  The successful tenderer is Mildura-based contractor King’s Construction, which recently completed work on the MBH Intensive Care Unit and MBH Mental Health Services redevelopment.
Mr Stevenson said the project was a “new build” so there would be no impact on patients and little or no disruption to existing services.
“The work however will remove 17 car parking spaces, so we would encourage people to be aware of that and, where possible, to use street parking, or the parking across Ontario Avenue, which is accessible via the AroundAgain service road,” Mr Stevenson said.
“Visitors are sometimes hesitant to park there, because they’re concerned the gates might close after hours, but the gates are open 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, and it’s often the quickest and easiest option for people.”

Pictured:
MBH Senior Staff Paediatrician Dr Suriyanarayanapillai Hariprakash with MBH Acting CEO Adam Stevenson after the first sod was turned.