John Hunter Hospital's expansion has reached a major milestone with construction on its acute services building completed.
The hospital's new seven-storey building will deliver specialist world-class health care for communities in Newcastle, the Hunter and northern NSW.
The Minister for Regional Health, Ryan Park said it was a major milestone and a significant investment in the Hunter's health care.
"We are delivering more beds, more hospitals, and more services to meet the needs of growing communities like the Hunter," Mr Park said.
"For people in Newcastle, the Hunter, and northern NSW, the completion of this new building will mean access to specialist world-class health care, closer to home."
The NSW government provided $55 million to complete the first phase of the greater expansion project, bringing the total investment to $890 million making it the largest hospital redevelopment outside metropolitan Sydney.
The building will house a new emergency department to meet a projected future demand of more than 95,000 presentations each year.
It will provide an additional 22 operating theatres and nine interventional suites to support growing demand for procedural services
It will also have birthing suites, inpatient maternity, neonatal intensive care unit, and special care units, a rooftop helipad and more than 900 car parking spaces for patients, staff, and visitors.
The acute services building will increase the intensive care unit's capacity by 60 per cent and will have almost 50 per cent more operating theatres.
Four link bridges connect the building to the existing hospital and the Hunter Medical Research Institute.
Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said the region turned to hospital in its toughest moments.
"This redevelopment means it will be ready for generations to come," she said.
"The Hunter is growing, and our health services need to grow with it.
"For too long, people outside of Sydney have had to travel further than they should for specialist care and our investment of $890 million means more people across the Hunter can get world-class treatment closer to home".
The pressure is now on to secure funding for the second phase of the expansion project estimated to cost at least $900 million. This would deliver a second new building.
Speaking to the Newcastle Herald in December last year Julie Tait, the hospital's executive general manager, said the second stage would provide enough beds to accommodate the full services of the new acute services building.
Ms Tait said the hospital's operating theatres were "working non-stop".
"The new building, god bless it, brings us more capacity with operating theatres. We'll go from 15 to potentially 22," she said.
"Part of our fear is we won't be able to turn all 22 theatres on because we won't have enough downstream beds."
The more those theatres were used, the more intensive care beds would be needed.
She said this was why "stage two is so essential".
Stage two was estimated at $800 million six years ago. While the latest cost estimate hasn't been revealed, given inflation, it is expected to be at least $900 million. As of December, the plans for stage two had not been accepted by the state government.
"The opportunity to get stage two is the biggest thing for our district," Ms Tait said.
Member for Charlestown Jodie Harrison said the redevelopment was about making sure people could access care when they needed it.
"The new acute services building will help ensure our growing community has access to modern facilities, more services and the highest quality healthcare, close to home," she said.
Operational fitting is underway, including staff orientation, equipment installation and systems testing.
The acute services building is expected to accept patients later this year, with refurbishment works in the existing hospital to follow in 2027.
