Port Macquarie Base Hospital Mechanical and Clinical Infrastructure Project Update October 2025

The project team is made up of many people from various organisations, all with different roles and responsibilities working together throughout the various stages to deliver on the project, many of whom will be regularly seen on-site. This includes engineers and consultants as well as the following:

Health Infrastructure
Senior Project Director: Nicholas Rayner
Project Director: Bronwyn Chalker
Project Lead, Communications & Engagement: Vanessa Delaney

Mid North Coast Local Health District
District Capital Works & Assets Manager: Michael Bujega
Redevelopment ClinicalLead: Anthea Young
Redevelopment Facility & Asset Lead: Mark Vandoros
Acting General Manager PMBH: Jo Campbell
Cultural Advisor: Laurie Clay

Project Manager
Turner & Townsend – Les Palma, Georgia Leonard & Bianca Greentree

Architects
Silver Thomas Hanley (STH) - Brent Railton, Nathalia Modelli & Aija Thomas

The project is now past the early planning stage and has entered the important master planning stage.

Sessions with clinicians and representatives of various units have been held over the last several months as part of this process, including briefings, Project User Groups (PUGs), and workshops with representatives from Maternity, Neonatal, ED, Allied Health, Patient Support Services, Pathology, Digital Health, and Clinical Education.

The project’s Executive User Group (EUG) has also met several times to discuss design principles, service prioritisation, and master plan options.

Progress on the development of the master plan is going well, with those involved in the PUGs, EUG, and workshops sharing valuable insights to be considered in the design of the upgraded spaces. The architects are using this information to inform the design.

The project team appreciates the time and energy of those who are on the ground delivering treatment and care to provide their ideas, priorities and challenges and is looking forward to sharing the master plan with others for their feedback.

As part of the master plan development, vital investigations by engineers and consultants into the hospital’s mechanical systems have been taking place to enable the team to work out the best approach to this aspect of the project.

The mechanical systems are the part of the hospital we don’t see in the walls and ceilings, including air conditioning ducts, pipes, fan coil units, and the systems that control this equipment. As the original Hospital building was opened in 1994, many of these and other services in the building are now over 30 years old and needing replacement.

The project team has now analysed the results of these mechanical investigations and developed options to present to the Executive User Group (EUG), Project Development Committee (PDC), and Executive Steering Committee (ESC) for consideration so that a decision on the best option can be made and endorsed.

This process brings us one step closer to finalising the master plan so that consultation with key stakeholders, including staff and the community, can take place.

The project was formally introduced to the MNCLHD Local Health Advisory Council (LHAC) at its August meeting, with project leaders outlining scope, benefits, and next steps.

Redevelopment Clinical Lead Anthea Young (MNCLHD), Project Director Bronwyn Chalker, and Communications and Engagement Lead Vanessa Delaney (Health Infrastructure) travelled to Macksville to present about the project.

The presentation was well received, with LHAC members offering thoughtful questions and assuring support for future engagement activities.

The project team has been invited to return in November to share and discuss progress and consult on the Master Plan.

Members of the project team have been on the move, travelling to the John Hunter Hospital (JHH) Redevelopment, and the recently completed new Maitland and Tweed Valley Hospitals.

The site visits to other comparable and completed hospital capital works projects have provided an opportunity for the team to check out new and upgraded facilities, talk to those on the ground, share insights, and gather key learnings for the PMBH project.

The JHH site visit allowed the team to review prototype builds and design mock-ups and samples, gaining valuable insights into clinical functionality, spatial planning, and patient experience. These prototypes are instrumental in refining design decisions, ensuring that future spaces are responsive to both operational needs and consumer expectations. 

With the facility planners having clinical backgrounds,  a unique and deeply human-centred approach to infrastructure planning has been taken, where clinical empathy, accessibility, and functional design are embedded from the outset.

The team is looking forward to applying the key learnings gained to ensure that the new spaces being delivered under the Port Macquarie Mechanical and Clinical Infrastructure Upgrade are not only fit-for-purpose, but future-ready.

Health Infrastructure is committed to engaging and consulting with local Aboriginal groups and people, including Elders, Knowledge Holders and young people to ensure the new and upgraded facilities are culturally safe and welcoming.

A Walk on Country event is being planned to kick off this collaboration with Birpai and Dunghutti Aboriginal knowledge holders, where the project team can start to gain an understanding of the needs of the community and its unique history and culture.

A Connecting with Country Working Group will then be established to provide a forum consulting design which recognise and pay respect to the local Aboriginal people, culture and heritage of the Birpai and Dunghutti People throughout the project duration at all key stages, including master planning, concept design, and schematic design.

Expressions of Interest to join the Connecting with Country Working Group will be opened shortly with the first meeting to be held before the end of the year.