Two wards have been combined at the Southern HIghlands Private Hospital to cope with staff shortages.
The hospital said the change will make it easier for staff, caring for patients in one ward, rather than across two.
The new ward will have 47 beds, with the organisation saying the change won’t affect its services and care.
Below is a statement from Dean Englefield, CEO of Southern Highlands Private Hospital:
“Our aim is always to ensure we provide excellent, high-quality care while being efficient as possible, especially at a time when cost of living pressures are being felt by families and businesses alike. To address vacancies on our surgical and medical wards and make it sustainable for us to continue providing the high level of care our patients expect, we recently identified an opportunity to combine our medical ward and surgical ward together. The combined medical/surgical ward includes 47 beds, ensuring that we still have the ability to care for additional patients should the need arise. It also has the added benefit of making it easier for our staff as are able to focus on caring for patients in one ward, rather than across two.
Southern Highlands Private Hospital contributes $15 million to the local economy each year and we are proud to continue to give back in this way. We continue to improve our service offering so that more patients can access high quality treatment locally. For example, we recently credentialed a female gynaecologist to expand our gynaecological services after receiving feedback that patients wanted more choice in relation to their treating doctor. We are also continuing to expand our acute / rehabilitation programs to offer more services to the community.
On a personal note, I am also invested in the community, having lived in the Southern Highlands for the past 17 years ago and look forward to continuing to lead the hospital in The Ramsay Way.”
