New Footscray Hospital Project Newsletter #3 - April 2022

In recognition of International Women’s Day (IWD) in March, we took the opportunity to reflect on the unique contribution women make to the construction industry by putting the spotlight on the women working on the new hospital site. We spoke to Elise about her career and advice to other women considering roles in construction.

What is your role on the project?

‘My role is to help coordinate the design process for the prototype rooms being built for the new hospital. This will include finalising the design, tendering for subcontracting trades, supervising construction, and the review/approvals process with Western Health and other project partners.’

What are the prototypes?

‘The prototypes are a built replicas of hospital rooms to assess how the different spaces function, look and feel. There will be 15 rooms in total, including an operating theatre and intensive care unit bay. The prototypes will be in place for three years and are being built in a warehouse in Sunshine.’

How did you start working in construction?

‘I studied architecture and after working as an architect for a year, I realised that I wanted to be out on site more, so I went back to uni and completed my Masters in Construction Management. It was there that we had a guest lecturer from Multiplex and that’s how I found out about their grad program.

‘After working on a couple of key Multiplex projects for the last four years, I was excited to then take on a role on the New Footscray Hospital Project.’

What do you think is the best thing about working in the construction industry?

‘I like the variety of work each day. Although my current role is focused on the design phase, I’ll then get the opportunity to move into construction and supervision. I enjoy that my role evolves with the project.’

Is there a specific project milestone that you’re looking forward to?

‘Yes, it will be a big milestone to get the prototypes approved and signed off. It will be satisfying to see all our hard work pay off and see the rooms come to life.’

How important are these prototypes in the design of the hospital?

‘They are important for the whole project because it sets the standard for all the hospital rooms on site, the construction details, and finishes. It’s a dry run that helps us get the design and construction right.’

What is your advice for other women starting out in the industry?

‘When I started out, I felt nervous as a young woman in a mostly male environment, and I felt that the women I worked with were all so experienced and knowledgeable, which was intimidating at first.

‘My advice is to try and overcome any trepidation, ask lots of questions and don’t hold back, because as soon as I did, I realised that people in this industry are genuinely willing to help and teach you and that’s when you learn the most.’

More than 100 Western Health clinicians have been given the opportunity to provide their input into the ongoing design process for the clinical rooms in the new Footscray Hospital.

Ten clinical room mock-ups were built at the end of last year, allowing clinicians to assess the spaces, including placement of equipment.

The rooms included an inpatient bedroom and ensuite, mental health inpatient bedroom and ensuite, intensive care bay, anesthetic induction room, theatre, hand wash bay, and emergency department bays (acute and recovery).

The process generated more than 600 pieces of feedback which is informing the next step in the design process, including development of the prototype rooms, which will be built in nearby warehouses later this year.

The visits were conducted under a strict COVID-safe plan and staff were also able to view 3D renders of the rooms and provide their feedback online.

The award-winning new Footscray Hospital virtual engagement room closed on 31 May 2022. The accessible version of the virtual engagement room continues to be available on our website.

The new hospital is taking shape and you can visit the room to check out construction progress onsite and see what’s coming up in our ‘meet the builder’ area.

You can also discover lots of information about the design and construction of the $1.5 billion new hospital, with the opportunity to take a 3D tour of the site, learn about how the community has shaped the design of the hospital and access fun kids’ activities in the community corner.

Have you heard about our time capsule?

We also want to hear your ideas on what should be included in a time capsule that will be placed on the site of the new Footscray Hospital. Visit the time capsule area in the room to submit your stories, ideas and photos about the ‘People’s Hospital’ and life in the West – and if you were born in Footscray Hospital, we’d love to see your baby photos!

You can also check out the ideas that have been submitted so far and give them a ‘like’ to show your support.

During the 1919 influenza pandemic, 34 years before the existing Footscray Hospital was built, Footscray residents established a makeshift hospital in a local technical school to treat victims of the epidemic, with 574 patients admitted over several months.

After decades of campaigning by locals for better healthcare in Footscray, the Footscray Outpatients and Welfare Centre was opened in 1938.

The current hospital opened in 1953. Originally named the Footscray and District Hospital, it treated more than 5000 patients in its first year. Footscray was the first large acute care general hospital to be established outside Melbourne’s city centre and inner suburbs.