Victoria’s largest health infrastructure project is halfway to completion, following the construction of the first three building structures.
The recently completed Footscray Hospital buildings feature a new education and research centre for nurse training, research and learning that will be occupied by Victoria University’s Footscray Park campus and be accessible via a public-use pedestrian footbridge across Ballarat Road.
A commercial building on Tiernan St will house a health and medical precinct across its five storeys, as well as a childcare facility and retail spaces – and a new car park building will contain four storeys of staff parking, integrated green wall gardens, a gymnasium, retail spaces and community areas opening onto the Village Green.
The buildings are the first of five major structures that will make up the new hospital precinct, with the main 10 storey hospital building and five storey sub-acute building due to be structurally complete next year.
The new Footscray Hospital will be operated by Western Health and have more than 500 beds, treating almost 15,000 extra patients and allowing almost 20,000 extra people to be seen by the emergency department each year. There will also be more outpatient, mental health, palliative care and surgical services.
The new facility – on track to be finished in 2025 – will replace the current hospital on Gordon St, aiming to support the growing population across Melbourne’s western suburbs to get the treatment and care they need.
Victorian Minister for Health Infrastructure, Mary-Anne Thomas, said, “Crews are working tirelessly to get this huge project off the ground – in just two years, families in our western suburbs will have access to these brand-new facilities, and our dedicated healthcare workers will have the best facilities to deliver their expert care.”
The new hospital is one of the countless health projects being delivered across Melbourne’s west – including the new Melton Hospital, Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital and major upgrades at Werribee Mercy Hospital.
The Victorian Government has made significant investments in the state’s health system, with more than $158 billion in funding since 2014.
