Hospital for CBD

The location of the $1.3 billion Bankstown Hospital has for years, been surrounded by controversy, with the previous State Liberal Government promising less than 12 months ago that it would be built across the road from the existing site, while former Mayor Khal Asfour led the push for the hospital to be built in the CBD, saying the Liberals’ proposed site was a former toxic dump (which takes in Bankstown Sporting Complex) and was dangerous and not fit for a hospital.
The new Bankstown Hospital which should be completed by 2029-30, will house all acute health services and be supported by the existing Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, which will be repurposed for community health services and other health-related supports services, while the search for a new TAFE site in the CBD has begun.
Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education, Steve Whan, said the Government and TAFE NSW were committed to maintaining a permanent TAFE presence in the Bankstown CBD, and the process of securing a temporary location had already begun.
Health Minister Ryan Park said the new hospital would significantly enhance healthcare in Bankstown and surrounding areas and ensure people could access the care they needed, closer to home.
Services are expected to include: Expanded emergency services, Intensive care, Surgery and interventional procedures, Women’s and Children’s Health, Rehabilitation, Aged health, Mental health, Cancer services and Ambulatory care services.
“We are ensuring that growing communities receive the health infrastructure they need and deserve,” Mr Park said.
“Everyone should be able to access world class health care where they need it.”
Minister for Emergency Services and State MP for Bankstown, Jihad Dib, said the Government’s commitment to build a new state-of-the-art hospital ensured that our community had the health facilities it needed, while State MP for East Hills, Kylie Wilkinson, said it was a win-win for the community with health services to remain on the existing site and a new hospital with significantly improved health services.
“This is a long overdue announcement that the community has waited a long time for,” Ms Wilkinson said.
Critical of the plan, former State MP for East Hills, Wendy Lindsay, said driving through Bankstown was challenging at the best of times, let alone in a panic with a sick loved one in the car.
“Having ambulances delayed in the middle of the CBD will be catastrophic, in an emergency every minute counts. This is bad planning by people who don’t live locally,” she said.
Councillor George Zakhia said the announcement sparked concerns over practicality and community welfare in general, this choice could be “potentially diminishing the hospital’s effectiveness and accessibility”.