Campbelltown’s $632m Hospital Extension Unveiled

A new $632-million, 12-storey hospital building has been unveiled, doubling the Campbelltown Hospital capacity.

The Stage 2 Campbelltown Hospital redevelopment included the refurbishment of the existing facilities and the addition of an emergency department, intensive care unit, women’s health services and maternity suites, children’s wing, state-of-the-art operating theatres and mental health unit.

The new and refurbished buildings were designed by Billard Leece Partnership to create a healing environment that was welcoming and inclusive, with a central spine.

BLP managing director and health lead Tara Veldman said it had been a lengthy process and at its peak up to 50 consultants were working on it. 

 “This hospital ensures the growing community of Campbelltown is well looked after into the future,” Veldman said.

“The new building includes adult and children’s units as well as the integration of mental health services, enabling the delivery of contemporary healthcare in a holistically designed precinct.”

Veldman said extensive consultation had been undertaken with the local First Nations community as well as hospital consumer groups and healthcare professionals. The masterplanning for the precinct began in 2018.

“The first project was a multi-level car park to make space on the site for the new development,” Veldman said.

“But the key thing for us was community engagement right from the get go … they’ve helped shape the design, including the central spine. It's a community space where people can come together in the central spine, with cafes, play areas and outdoor space.”

▲ Artwork has been central to the design of a welcoming hospital campus and helped to combine the new and the old vernacular.

Taking the shape of feathery helixes, the sculptural works of lead Indigenous artist Nicole Monks are suspended in Hospital Street. Monks also curated new spaces outside the hospital, including the outdoor Welcoming Stone—a beacon of safety for First Nations people inspired by the sacred birthing stone.

Veldman said the project had doubled the size of the hospital to cater to the growing Western Sydney population.

Key to the architectural response to the hospital design was an indoor avenue filled with art. 

Hospital Street was designed to be an uplifting arrival point and meeting space designed to help people navigate through the hospital according to Veldman. 

Veldman said there was two key trends driving healthcare design in 2023. The response of the health system to a pandemic had been punctuated by Covid-19, testing hospitals’ capabilities to lock down wards and floors of healthcare facilities. 

The second trend driving design was creating welcoming and peaceful spaces that fostered a sense of health and wellbeing.

“There is quite a lot of research out there and the research says that people get better more quickly and families cope better if the environment is more supportive,” she said.

“A big part of the work we do now is measuring the environment to improve patient outcomes.”

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and health minister Brad Hazzard officially opened the new facility this week, the centreppiece of the Stage 2 redevelopment of the hospital campus. 

“The NSW government is delivering major projects across South-West and Western Sydney to make these communities an even better place to live, work, play and raise a family,” Perrottet said.

“It has been wonderful to see this amazing project progress to a modern facility, enabling our dedicated frontline staff to deliver high-quality care to the people of Macarthur.”

The completion of the works is scheduled for completion in late 2023, with works commencing on the first nuclear medicine department and an additional entrance.