Doctors meet to get it right for new Orange hospital

Feb 21 2008

The furore over the new Bathurst hospital which has been deemed dysfunctional by medical staff is now being followed by another uproar this time over plans for a new hospital in Orange in central western New South Wales.

The medical staff at the Orange Base Hospital say current plans for the new hospital are seriously flawed and they want the city's new $214 million hospital to be completely redesigned.

A meeting was held last night by the hospital's medical staff council in anticipation of a visit by the state's Health Minister to Orange and Bathurst today.

According to the council's chairwoman, Dr. Ruth Arnold, plans for the new hospital breach national standards and do not meet nursing award conditions, despite three years of consultation.

Dr. Arnold says if they were to build this hospital as currently proposed it would be smaller than the currently available space, with fewer overnight general hospital beds.

Dr. Arnold says there would be also be a loss of existing services, which would include eight patients fewer able to receive dialysis, no outpatient paediatric clinic and one less coronary care bed; the plans for the new hospital also do not include a stroke unit.

Sarah Bennett from the Australian Medical Association (AMA), says closer examination of the plans has also revealed parts of the new hospital are too small, some of the rooms used for resuscitation are not big enough for a doctor to access both sides of a bed.

The AMA says there are very specific operational concerns.

The Greater Western Area Health Advisory Council believes the debacle over Bathurst Hospital will ensure the same mistakes are not repeated in Orange.

Chairman, Dr. Steve Flecknoe-Brown is pleased plans for the new Orange hospital are under scrutiny before construction starts because he says it means all clinical stakeholders will have an input.

NSW Health Minister Reba Meagher says there will be no delays to the $200 million Orange hospital project, despite the major design faults identified at Bathurst Base Hospital.