A MAJOR $120m hospital development at Gateshead is the first step in a next-generation health precinct for the Hunter.
A blueprint for Ramsay Health's 10-storey Lake Macquarie Private Hospital project is hoped to ease the strain on an over-burdened system that runs at or near capacity most of the time.
Under the plans, the existing 187-bed hospital will be bolstered with a 10-storey tower housing surgical theatres, ward beds, car parks and consult suites, with a May report projecting the cost at $120 million.
The proposal is the result of more than five years of meticulous planning, Lake Macquarie Private Hospital chief executive Sharon Rewitt said.
"On completion, the improved hospital will offer 248 private inpatient beds, 14 operating theatres and three cardiac catheter labs, plus hybrid and vascular labs," she said.
"Critical care, intensive care and an enhanced 24-hour emergency department, radiology and oncology services will also be provided.
"The development is focused on careful expansion, and we look forward to growing with the community."
If it's given the green light, the expansion will take place in five stages, expected to be completed in 2027.
The state-significant proposal will require the site to be rezoned and height controls lifted from 10m to 37m at the northern end.
The proponent expects the hospital expansion will create 800 to 1000 direct and flow-on jobs during construction, with 200 roles once it's complete.
Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser said the proposed rezoning will pave the way for a larger transformation in the years to come.
"A cluster of state-of-the-art medical facilities and services at Gateshead, including Lake Macquarie Private Hospital, would create an expanded, regionally significant health precinct for our city," she said.
Cr Fraser said health services will be paramount as Lake Macquarie's population ages, and will create new jobs, grow skills and generate flow-on economic benefits for the city.
The rezoning proposal could see the site changed from medium density residential to health services facilities infrastructure.
A broader precinct plan will be developed next year to identify car parking, public transport and other services and infrastructure needed to meet demand once the expansion is complete, the council's integrated planning manager Wes Hain said.
"It will also provide controls for how other private development in the precinct could look, and will address other public domain improvements," he said.
The area has been earmarked as a regionally significant health precinct in both the Hunter Regional Plan 2036 and the Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan 2036.
The council will consider feedback before it makes a decision on the proposal early next year.
If approved, the proposal will be then be assessed as a state-significant development application with the NSW government.
The proposal is on exhibition until February 3, visit shape.lakemac.com.au for information.
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