A DEVELOPMENT Application for $600,000 worth of upgrades to be made to Tomaree Community Hospital’s emergency department has been lodged with Port Stephens Council.
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Hunter New England Health lodged the DA at the beginning of February, seeking the council’s approval to carry out $613,726 worth of alterations and upgrades to the Nelson Bay hospital’s ED.
The project was made possible after Nelson Bay couple Tom and Rose Pearce bequeathed the hospital $508,000, which it received in December 2014.
"Both had used the services of the Tomaree and John Hunter hospitals, which prompted them to leave a charity trust fund in their wills,” the couple’s son, Mike Pearce, told the Examiner in October 2015.
When the money was received, the executive director of Metropolitan Health Services, Karen Kelly, said the it would be used to fund the upgrade and that Hunter New England Health would chip in the outstanding amount.
The DA proposal from Hunter New England Health, prepared by de Witt Consulting in Charlestown, seeks to demolish selected internal and external walls and some floors in the existing ED to slightly increase the size of the treatment area, consultation room, storage, office and administration.
It is also proposes to remove some vegetation from around the hospital and extend the internal road for an ambulance exit.
“The proposed changes will not require additional staff to be employed at the facility as staff provide crossover service to the ED,” the DA proposal states.
