Major works begin on Barwon Women’s and Children’s Hospital

MAJOR works have started to create the Barwon Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Geelong, with demolition under way in one corner of University Hospital Geelong.

Projected to cost more than $500 million, the new hospital will be built within the existing hospital precinct and will house a new children’s inpatient unit, new neonatal and patient care unit, specialist (outpatient) clinics and four new operating theatres.

The new facilities, which will include a new tower block, will also have purpose-built spaces for children and young people, including overnight and same-day beds, outpatient clinic rooms and dedicated theatres.

A modern design and layout, including the co-location of services, will improve patient flow to deliver a safer and more efficient workplace for staff and seamless care for patients.

Premier Daniel Andrews inspected demolition works on buildings near the corner of Bellarine and Myers streets during a visit on Friday last week, and also stopped briefly in the existing maternity unit, where he said hello to new parents Kahleah and Josh Lee from Portarlington and their one-day-old baby Lexia.

“This new Barwon Women’s and Children’s Hospital is all about giving women and kids the very best care – the best care for families right across this growing region,” Mr Andrews said.

“More beds, more theatres, more babies born, less families having to travel outside their local community, this pristine fantastic part of regional Victortia, to get the care that they need.”

He said about 40 per cent more women and children could be treated each year in the new hospital.

As an example, Mr Andrews said about 500 babies received care in University Hospital Geelong’s special care nursery each year, but the upgrades would double that figure to more than 1,000 babies.

“This is a fantastic day today, and we’re pleased to mark really significant progress.”

Site preparations, including further demolition, will continue throughout next year, with works expected to be completed and the first intake of patients in 2029, but Mr Andrews said the hospital may be finished sooner.

“If we can beat that, and there’s a lot of hard work going on by the team here at Barwon Health here to do that… there’s a real effort, a real push to deliver these first-class facilities as soon as possible.”

The works are expected to support 1,500 direct and indirect jobs at the peak of construction.