New Eurobodalla Regional Hospital Development

Site selection

The location for the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital development was announced in south-east Moruya in December 2020. The new hospital will deliver a modern and purpose-built facility to support the healthcare needs of the entire Eurobodalla Shire from Narooma to Batemans Bay.

Following consultation with the community, consumers, local Aboriginal groups and key stakeholders including Transport for NSW and the Eurobodalla Shire Council, the recommended site was identified in south-east Moruya.

The recommended site has been evaluated against a range of assessment criteria including current and projected population growth areas, flood and bushfire zones, capacity for future expansion, transport, and access to and from key infrastructure such as Moruya Airport and the planned Moruya Bypass.

Clinical services planning

The first stage in the development of a new hospital is clinical services planning. The Eurobodalla Clinical Services Plan (CSP) helps determine the requirements for a new hospital, confirm the role of the hospital within the District, the range of health care services provided, and how these services may be provided. The CSP outlines the current and projected health service needs of the Eurobodalla population up to 2031 and describes key infrastructure and future clinical services recommendations to best meet those needs.

Southern NSW Local Health District undertook comprehensive clinical services planning in 2018-2019 to determine the future range of health services required for the communities in the Eurobodalla Local Government Area. The process included significant stakeholder consultation to inform the planning. The CSP was submitted for review in 2019 and was endorsed by the NSW Ministry of Health in May 2020.

Campus master plan

The key purpose of master planning is to develop a framework for how key clinical connections and requirements can be supported with different types of infrastructure, and how this infrastructure can be located and connected to existing and new health networks, as well as supporting infrastructure such as transport and utilities.

It also addresses how people will get to and from the hospital, what associated facilities and development will add to the healthcare facilities, and how the hospital works as a place. The master plan also considers how the hospital will expand and be renewed to provide high quality health services well into the future.

The campus master plan for the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital development is being developed in consultation with local and state government agencies, clinicians, operational staff and the community.

State Significant Development Application (SSDA)

As part of the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital planning approval process, Health Infrastructure was required to lodge a State Significant Development Application (SSDA) with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.

The SSDA provided for the construction and operation of a hospital in south-east Moruya that will service the needs of the Eurobodalla Shire community.

View the planning documents.

The Coastal Network brings together healthcare services and diverse populations across the South Coast region. The Network’s services cater for the health needs of its residents and the thousands of tourists who visit each year.

The Network has four hospitals that are supported by community health services at Batemans Bay, Narooma, Moruya, Bega, Pambula and Eden.

It also has inpatient and outpatient services, including obstetrics, surgery, acute inpatient, mental health, paediatrics, oncology, renal and sub-acute rehabilitation.

Batemans Bay Community Health

The new $20 million Batemans Bay Community Health facility will provide additional healthcare services to complement the new hospital and provide the people of Eurobodalla with greater access to care, closer to home. The proposed facility will deliver community healthcare services such as GPs, dentists and child, family, aged care and other allied health services.

The Eurobodalla Regional Hospital will be established as a Level 4 health facility.

New services like paediatrics, intensive care, and an MRI will be included in the new hospital, allowing us to provide a higher level of care for our community.

The new hospital is being designed to address the evolving healthcare requirements of the growing local population, keeping future demand at the forefront. The hospital will elevate healthcare in the Eurobodalla, offering an enhanced level of service beyond the current capabilities of the Moruya and Batemans Bay hospitals.

The development is being supported by a workforce plan, focusing on training, recruitment, and retention strategies to meet the anticipated growth of Eurobodalla Regional Hospital. The new hospital will require time to transition and develop the workforce to align with the new contemporary models of care, the new facility, technology, and ways of working.

What are the benefits of a Level 4 hospital?

Expanding healthcare services to higher levels means more people in the community can access specialised care locally, reducing the need for travel.

New services like paediatrics, intensive care, and an MRI that will be provided at the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital strengthen our local healthcare system, allowing us to provide more advanced care for families, the elderly, and everyone in our community.

This will lead to fewer newborns, infants, and children seeking care elsewhere, more mothers giving birth locally, increased capacity for complex procedures on-site, and improved availability of specialist outpatient services in the Eurobodalla.

Will there be more beds?

The new hospital will be larger than both Moruya and Batemans Bay hospitals combined and deliver an increase in bed numbers. Contemporary health service design enables flexible use of beds in all clinical areas, as demand requires. This means that wards can be reconfigured if a department needs more beds at any given time.

The new maternity department at the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital will provide a modern, purpose-built and culturally safe environment to ensure women and families receive a high standard of individualised care for this important part of their parenting journey. 

All birthing suites will have a bath and will be connected to outdoor spaces on Country with their own private courtyard, providing women with more choice during labour. The maternity department features all single rooms, a dedicated nursery, feeding preparation areas and a family lounge.

Yes, the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital is being thoughtfully designed to provide a safe and supportive environment for people with cognitive impairment, including dementia. Some key features will include:

• Adjustable lighting: Lighting throughout Inpatient Units and patient areas are dimmable.  There are external windows to maximise natural light into patient bedrooms, and activity areas.  Windows have blinds to control natural light as required.
• Enhanced safety: Each bed will have ready access to data points and power outlets to support the use of safety equipment such as falls alarms.
• Outdoor access: We are working toward providing safe outdoor access for Inpatient Units. The Intensive Care Unit and the Medical and Surgical wards are located on level 1 and feature a space to access the outdoors. The Rehab and Palliative Care ward is on the ground floor, providing outdoor access specifically designed for those patient groups. Additionally, there are gardens and green spaces incorporated around the site designed to reduce stress and enhance patient recovery.
• Specialised care: The proposed medical profile includes specialists providing rehabilitation, palliative care, and geriatric expertise, ensuring patients with cognitive impairments can receive appropriate care.
• Patient-friendly design: The design of bedrooms and ensuites meets Australian Health Facility Guidelines standards, ensuring optimal accessibility for patients, including the use of contrasting colours and clear signage.
• Quiet environment: Throughout the facility, we aim to implement nurse call systems that minimise the use of audible buzzers, contributing to a quieter and more peaceful environment.
• Elderly care in the Emergency Department: The inclusion of a Short Stay Unit will provide options for the safe management of confused elderly patients within the Emergency Department.

These features are part of our commitment to creating a safe, comfortable, and supportive environment for all patients, especially those with cognitive impairments.

Currently, patients in Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) who may have cancer and who require radiotherapy treatment, can access high-quality, appropriately staffed radiotherapy services at either Canberra or Nowra. Both centres provide existing accommodation facilities for patients who attend from SNSWLHD.

NSW Health and HealthShare NSW have invited interested parties to respond to a Request for Proposal to provide a general radiation therapy service in the Eurobodalla region.

In 2023, The Access to Radiation Therapy Services for Residents of Eurobodalla/Bega Valley LGAs report by Michael Reid and Associates was commissioned by NSW Health to review the viability of radiation therapy services across the Bega Valley and Eurobodalla regions.

The report informs ongoing District planning and negotiations with the Australian Government in relation to the provision of radiation therapy services. A detailed cost estimate will be prepared as part of further planning for a potential radiotherapy service in the Eurobodalla region.

SNSWLHD continually monitors the demand for all health services, including radiotherapy services, and aligns future service delivery with best practice guidelines, safety, sustainability and service demand in mind. The new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital Master Plan includes space for the expansion or inclusion of future compatible services.

Health Infrastructure is working with Transport for NSW to integrate planning of the proposed Moruya bypass and new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital.

The hospital site entrance for all public and hospital vehicles, including ambulances will be via a new roundabout off the Princes Highway.

Throughout the planning and design process, the project team has consulted with 16 Project User Groups (PUGs). Participation from user groups is important during planning and the development of the design to ensure staff, patients and community representatives have input into the design. 

PUGs were established for each of the services and departments in the new build. Community consultation has occured at the various stages of design including concept design, schematic design, design development as well as the public exhibition of the Environmental Impact Statement.

Consultation with the Aboriginal community

The new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital Development is a pilot project for the NSW Government Architect’s Connecting with Country framework that will ensure Aboriginal consultation through the delivery and operation of the new hospital. 

Aboriginal consultation has already influenced the design of the new hospital; for example, the maternity unit will be located on the Ground Floor to accommodate the importance of birthing on Country.

Read more about our community and cultural engagement.

The new Batemans Bay Community Health and the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will continue to operate on the site of Batemans Bay Hospital once hospital services transition to the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital.

Plans for the remaining part of Batemans Bay Hospital site, which is owned by the NSW Government, are yet to be determined.

Construction of the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital is expected to be completed in 2027. This will be followed by a period of operational commissioning to ensure the hospital is ready for patients, staff and visitors.

The following FAQs are related to ambulance services managed by NSW Ambulance.
 

How do NSW Ambulance manage transfers between Batemans Bay and Moruya during times of high traffic and the busy holiday season?

Paramedics are a mobile workforce and respond from one patient to the next across locations, regardless of whether they are located at a hospital, an ambulance station or another location.

During periods of higher demand NSW Ambulance can fluidly deploy resources to where they are needed most, helping deliver the best possible out-of-hospital care for the community.

How will NSW Ambulance ensure there are enough ambulances available to transfer people from Batemans Bay and surrounds to the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital? 

Requests for ambulances are triaged according to urgency and clinical need to ensure the most appropriate response to all patients.

NSW Ambulance Emergency Medical Call Takers (EMCT) follow internationally recognised and evidence-based predetermined scripts to determine the priority of each incident, based on the patient’s presenting symptoms. This allows NSW Ambulance to determine an appropriate response.

Where an ambulance isn’t required immediately, experienced clinicians from the NSW Ambulance Virtual Clinical Care Centre (VCCC), provide comprehensive and integrated secondary triage to better understand the needs of the patient.

For patients who don’t require an ambulance to attend to them and can be managed safely at home, the VCCC also provides alternate referral services such as referral to a General Practitioner, Pharmacist, or other health care provider.

This allows NSW Ambulance to ensure the right patient receives the right care in the right place at the right time by the right care provider.

Virtual care by VCCC clinicians ensures that patients with lower critical care needs who can safely remain in the community do so, thereby keeping frontline paramedics for life-threatening emergencies.

Will NSW Ambulance be recruiting more paramedics / ambulances?

NSW Ambulance applies a Clinical Capability Assessment as well as a service planning methodology to determine the placement of clinical resources within geographical areas. This methodology considers patient safety and the volume and mix of services required when determining clinical service levels.

NSW Ambulance conducts regular analysis of all locations within NSW to identify areas of growing demand for prioritisation of resources. This includes the use of best practice modelling software which maps Triple Zero (000) calls to determine the most suitable location for emergency care, including examination of current response areas and modelling of potential station locations to best meet patient need.

What is NSW Ambulance process to triage/ care for people in life threatening conditions?

Requests for ambulances are triaged according to urgency and clinical need to ensure the most appropriate response to all patients.  

NSW Ambulance Emergency Medical Call Takers follow internationally recognised and evidence-based predetermined scripts to determine the location of an incident and the priority of each incident, based on the patient’s presenting symptoms.

NSW Ambulance uses the Medical Prioritisation Dispatch System (MPDS) to assist in triaging Triple Zero (000) calls from the community. Emergency medical call takers use a primary triage process that complies with international standards. 

The new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital will centralise higher-level services, including ICU, surgery, paediatrics, maternity and imaging, at a purpose-built Level 4 facility in Moruya. This will reduce the need for out-of-region travel for the majority of specialist care. Located in the geographical centre of the Eurobodalla Shire, the hospital has been designed to support both current and future population growth.