City's private hospital is officially opened

Western Advocate - Feb. 21, 2013, 4 a.m. By JACINTA CARROLL

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FOLLOWING a $1 million dollar upgrade, Bathurst Private Hospital

has officially opened.

The 12-bed hospital has moved into a new wing of the

old St Vincent’s Hospital. Bathurst Private Hospital director Dr Bill Mackie said the hospital’s

new wing was perfectly located next to the operating theatres.

In addition to undergoing a complete refurbishment, the hospital now has new pathology services and consulting rooms for visiting specialists.
 

Dr Mackie said the new wing enabled a more streamlined operation, and said despite earlier proposals to totally rebuild the hospital in partnership with Charles Sturt University, a lack of support from the government resulted in the hospital’s directors committing to staying at the current site and subsequently signing a long-term lease.

 

Dr Mackie said the refurbishment took six months, and patient feedback has been positive.

 

He also said it was important for the city to have a private hospital to continue to attract specialists to the area.
In opening the hospital, Dr Mackie thanked the staff for their willingness to embrace change and spoke on the vital role the hospital has in the community.

“It’s very important to have a private hospital in the community the size of Bathurst, to give people choices and relieve the stress on Bathurst Base Hospital.”
 

Dr Mackie said Bathurst Private Hospital provides the city with the range of services it needs, and “it’s done it by itself, without support from the government”.
 

Bathurst Private Hospital’s chief executive officer Pamela Robinson said the refurbishment had given the hospital a new lease of life. “The operating theatres and rooms are now all together, everything is self contained, which is far better for the patients,” she said.
 

Bathurst Private Hospital was created in 2010 following the closure of St Vincent’s Private Hospital.
Initially, 49 part-time and fulltime staff took up positions in the new hospital, primarily in nursing and administration roles.
Most of the staff had previously worked at St Vincent’s.

It took some time for the private hospital to get up and running following the closure of St Vincent’s, as legal and regulatory requirements had to be met and the NSW Health Licence and  Department of Health provider numbers issued.