Upgrades completed in Cohuna and East Grampians

Two more health services in Northern and Western Victoria have built and upgraded critical medical facilities funded by the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund (RHIF).

Cohuna District Hospital and East Grampians Health have recently completed upgrades that will help keep healthcare local.

Cohuna: Surgery boost

Works are now complete on Cohuna’s $6.3 million surgical transformation.

This surgical upgrade supports modern, streamlined and efficient ways of working. Bringing state of the art surgical care close to home.

The existing Operating Theatre Suite and Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD) have received upgrades. A CSSD area is where reusable medical devices are disinfected and cleaned.

The project has also delivered new Post-Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU) beds and facilities. These are designed for patients recovering from surgery or procedures involving anaesthesia.

The hospital’s fire-fighting capabilities have also been improved by delivering a new water filtration system to help keep staff and patients safe.

The surgery boost was supported by a $6.3 million grant from the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund (RHIF). With the remainder contributed through local fundraising efforts and a generous family bequest.

This project brings the total amount invested in Cohuna through RHIF to more than $6.9 million. This includes:

investment into an urgent care centre equipment upgrade
a pathology centre
clinical store relocation
a theatre and peri-operative unit refurbishment.

Gallery

Modern facilities for surgeries in Cohuna

These upgrades make surgery care closer to home

The $6.3 million project was delivered through the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund

These upgraded facilities improve patient flow and support staff

Endoscopy equipment inside a hospital room

One of the new endoscopy systems installed at Ararat Hospital, bringing care close to home

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East Grampians: Life changing equipment

Ararat Hospital receives two new endoscopy systems to enhance surgery capabilities in the East Grampians region.

Endoscopies account for many of the procedures carried out at East Grampians Health for the local community and wider region.

These two new systems will support care at Ararat Hospital by:

delivering care sooner
meeting demand for local surgical services
reducing waiting lists
and improving reliability for staff.

Endoscopy systems are made of vital equipment used for minimally invasive procedures. It allows doctors to inspect and observe inside the body. This can be useful for diagnosing conditions like endometriosis, without the need for major surgery.

Examples of these procedures include:

colonoscopies
gastroscopies
and laparoscopies (also known as keyhole surgeries).

This upgrade of more than $500,000 was granted through the Victorian Government's Regional Health Infrastructure Fund.

About the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund (RHIF)

Now worth $865 million, the RHIF helps improve the quality and capacity of health services across regional Victoria. These upgrades help people in regional Victoria access high-quality care, closer to home.

Since 2016, the Victorian Health Building Authority has delivered more than 700 projects through the RHIF.

The fund aims to assist regional and rural health services improve:

safety
quality of services
service capacity
models of care
patient and staff comfort
service efficiency.

As Victoria’s largest health grants program, RHIF projects also create hundreds of jobs. This helps regional health services attract and keep skilled local workers.

Learn more about the Regional Health Infrastructure Fund.