Why is the Ballarat Base Hospital being redeveloped?
The Ballarat Base Hospital is being redeveloped so it can expand to meet the growing population and health needs of Ballarat and the surrounding areas.
A significant redevelopment and expansion of the hospital is needed to:
- ensure clinical services can meet increasing demand from the growing community
- provide contemporary facilities for patients, staff and visitors.
To prepare for the future, in May 2018 the Victorian Government announced it will invest $461.6 million to redevelop the Ballarat Base Hospital.
A further $80 million was announced in the 2020-21 Victorian State Budget to build a new central energy plant. In 2023, $54 million was announced to deliver a helipad and a new multi-deck car park. This brings the total investment to $595 million.
What is included in the redevelopment?
The redevelopment of Ballarat Base Hospital will deliver:
- new central energy plant
- new pharmacy and pathology facilities
- new Education and Learning Centre
- multilevel hospital tower
- new emergency department
- new women and children’s hub
- state-of-the-art theatre suite
- an extra 100 inpatient and short stay beds
- new and expanded critical care floor
- 400-space multi-deck car park expansion.
The new and expanded critical care floor will include:
- operating theatres
- procedure rooms
- an expanded intensive care unit
- endoscopy suites
- consulting rooms.
The redevelopment will also deliver a new main and emergency department entrance to be accessed via Sturt St.
The new entrance will improve access for patients, families and emergency vehicles, as well as deliver urgently needed short-term carparking and safe drop-off zones. Artist impressions of the new entrance can be viewed in the gallery
To deliver an expanded world-class hospital that meets the future health needs and expectations of the local community, two properties on Sturt Street have been acquired and will ultimately be removed.
The local community has told us through surveys and the community consultative committee that the current pain-points are around lack of short-term parking, poor accessibility and wayfinding. We have listened and incorporated these priorities into the designs for the hospital redevelopment. View the community consultation report.
What stage of construction is the redevelopment at?
The redevelopment is currently in stage two. This includes the construction of the new central energy plant and support services building on Drummond Street. Construction started this year and is being delivered by John Holland. It is supporting more than 170 construction jobs and will be completed in late 2024.
Construction of the multi-level hospital tower will start in 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2027. The tower will include:
- a new emergency department
- a women and children’s hub
- a theatre suite
- extra inpatient and short stay beds.
When will the redevelopment be completed?
The redevelopment of Ballarat Base Hospital is expected to take several years, as is common with large construction projects of this size.
The construction of the central energy plant is expected to be completed in early 2024. The main hospital works are expected to be completed in 2027.
Will a new acute mental health facility be delivered?
Grampians Health and the Department of Health are reviewing the outcomes from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System to identify how mental health services should be delivered into the future.
The recommendations and best practice will be considered in the design of the redevelopment, in particular the new emergency department and women and children’s hub.
The redevelopment also includes allowances for upgrades to the existing acute adult mental health facilities to help meet our immediate needs. We acknowledge the importance of these works and have prioritised them to be delivered over the next 12 months.
Will the redeveloped hospital have enough carparking?
In March 2023, the Victorian Government announced an extra 400 car parking spaces would be delivered as part of the Ballarat Base Hospital redevelopment.
The car park expansion is part of a $54 million package of works that also includes temporarily relocating the current helipad landing zone. A new helipad will form part of stage three of the redevelopment, where it will be positioned on top of the new multi-level tower.
The extra car parks are being delivered as part of Regional Development Victoria’s commitment to provide an extra 1000 car parks in Ballarat through the Regional Car Parks Fund.
Will the Air Ambulance service still operate in and out of Ballarat?
Yes. The temporary helipad will be moved to Ballarat Airport or the City Oval. This flight path is currently used during poor weather when access to the Ballarat Base Hospital is restricted.
The new helipad will be housed on a new multi-storey tower with direct access to the emergency theatre and operating theatres.
How many jobs will the project create?
The redevelopment is expected to create more than 1,400 construction jobs. Once fully operational, up to 1,000 extra positions will be created at the hospital.
Will residents near the hospital be affected by the redevelopment?
We will work with Grampians Health and the community to minimise disruptions to neighbouring residents and businesses.
We are committed to keeping the community up-to-date as the project progresses. Works will be communicated through the Grampians Health website, this project page, local media and directly to residents where appropriate.
Will hospital services be affected during construction?
Works will be planned and managed to minimise impacts to patients, staff and families at Ballarat Base Hospital.
A number of hospital functions will be relocated to new spaces as part of the redevelopment. Access paths may also change to ensure the safety of staff and patients. These changes will be communicated through the Grampians Health website and directly to staff and patients where appropriate.
Will there be any impact on carparking during construction?
Work to expand the hospital’s multi-deck car park will start on 2 October, 2023. Once complete the hospital will have around 800 car parks. To deliver this boost, the hospital’s multi-deck carpark will temporarily close for approximately 10 months, until July 2024.
We appreciate the patience of hospital staff and the community during this time.
During all stages of construction, access to the Emergency Department will always remain open. This includes the existing car parks directly at the front of the Emergency Department to drop off patients.
Where will I park during construction of the multi-deck car park?
Grampians Health has put in place a temporary car parking solution. The free park and ride service will be available at the nearby City Oval for staff, patients and visitors.
Peak periods (6:15am – 9:15am) (2pm – 6pm)
- buses will run on continuous loops.
6pm to 11pm
- buses will run every 15-20 minutes.
The drop off / pick up points at the hospital will be:
- Ballarat Regional Integrated Cancer Centre (BRICC) entry, located on Sturt Street, during daylight hours
- Gardiner Pittard (GP) foyer entry, located on Drummond Street, during evening hours.
For more information about temporary parking options, please visit The Grampians Health Ballarat Base Hospital webpage.
Will any properties need to be acquired as part of the redevelopment?
To deliver an expanded world-class hospital that meets the future health needs and expectations of the local community, two properties on Sturt Street have been acquired and will ultimately be removed.
The acquisitions will enable the development of an accessible and appropriately sized entrance to the new hospital and emergency department via Sturt Street. This will create space for safe drop-off zones, urgently needed short-term carparking and better accessibility for the community.
The local community has told us through surveys and the community consultative committee – that the current pain-points are around lack of short-term parking, poor accessibility and wayfinding. We have listened and incorporated these priorities into the designs for the hospital redevelopment.
Could the properties planned for acquisition be retained?
A lot of planning has gone into the redevelopment to ensure it delivers an expanded world-class hospital that meets the future health needs and expectations of the Ballarat community. While it is a difficult decision, this acquisition is the only viable option to unlocking the current site.
The acquisitions will enable us to provide a large new emergency department at ground level and address the current issues raised by patients and the community around access, wayfinding and parking in the redevelopment.
The local community will be able to look forward to a bigger and better hospital that’s easy to access and move around, more accessible parking including short-term emergency drop-off parking, and more open green spaces.
For further information
To receive updates about the project, sign up to the mailing list.
If you have any questions about the Ballarat Base Hospital redevelopment please email email the project team at bbhrproject@health.vic.gov.au.
+ -
1 Drummond Street N,
Ballarat Central,
Victoria,
3350,
Australia
2024
CONSTRUCTION OF TOWER BEGINS
