Shellharbour Hospital
Encyclopedia
Shellharbour Hospital is a major district hospital
located in the Shellharbour
area of New South Wales
. It is part of the Southern network of the South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service
, and receives students from the University of New South Wales
and University of Wollongong
.
, emergency and psychiatry
services to the Shoalhaven and northern Illawarra
region, operating 75 beds and a five bed high dependency unit. It also operates a satellite dialysis
unit, and is also a leading provider of gynaecological
and laparoscopic surgery
in the Southern region. In the year 2006-7 there were over 15,000 admissions provided by 273 full-time equivalent staff.
A new 20-bed mental health
unit intended as a step-down service that provides rehabilitation for patients discharged from acute care services is currently under construction. Also being built is an adolescent mental health unit. The centre for referral of complex cases from Shellharbour is Wollongong Hospital. The hospital receives students from the University of New South Wales, and in 2008 a formal agreement was signed with the University of Wollongong graduate medical school.
, after many years of lobbying and at a cost of A$
22 million. The hospital provided medical and surgical services, and paediatric
and maternity services were transferred to it from nearby Port Kembla Hospital. As the population of the area grew, the volume of services provided steadily increased and placed pressure on hospital services; in 2006, physician Chris Dunn said the hospital was under-resourced and there was a "staffing crisis."
In 2007 the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP)
revoked the hospital's accreditation for employing and teaching basic physician trainees due to inadequate supervision, as there were not enough senior staff employed. The hospital submitted a request to regain its status in 2008, and the RACP restored its training role for 12 months. 2008 also saw the opening of a new home birthing service and family care centre. The South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service has proposed to consolidate surgical services from nearby Bulli Hospital to Shellharbour from 2009.
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
located in the Shellharbour
City of Shellharbour
City of Shellharbour is a Local Government Area located in the Illawarra region, on the east coast of Australia, about 100 km south of Sydney...
area of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. It is part of the Southern network of the South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service
South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service
South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service was formed in 2005 from the amalgamation of the Illawarra Area Health Service and South Eastern Sydney Area Health Service...
, and receives students from the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
and University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong is a public university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney...
.
Services
Shellharbour Hospital provides medical, surgical, obstetricObstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
, emergency and psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
services to the Shoalhaven and northern Illawarra
Illawarra
Illawarra is a region in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a coastal region situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the Shoalhaven or South Coast region. It encompasses the cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven and the town of Kiama. The central region contains Lake...
region, operating 75 beds and a five bed high dependency unit. It also operates a satellite dialysis
Dialysis
In medicine, dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure...
unit, and is also a leading provider of gynaecological
Gynaecology
Gynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women"...
and laparoscopic surgery
Laparoscopic surgery
Laparoscopic surgery, also called minimally invasive surgery , bandaid surgery, or keyhole surgery, is a modern surgical technique in which operations in the abdomen are performed through small incisions as opposed to the larger incisions needed in laparotomy.Keyhole surgery makes use of images...
in the Southern region. In the year 2006-7 there were over 15,000 admissions provided by 273 full-time equivalent staff.
A new 20-bed mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
unit intended as a step-down service that provides rehabilitation for patients discharged from acute care services is currently under construction. Also being built is an adolescent mental health unit. The centre for referral of complex cases from Shellharbour is Wollongong Hospital. The hospital receives students from the University of New South Wales, and in 2008 a formal agreement was signed with the University of Wollongong graduate medical school.
History
Shellharbour Hospital opened in 1986 by Neville WranNeville Wran
Neville Kenneth Wran, AC, CNZM, QC was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 until 1986. He was National President of the Australian Labor Party from 1980 to 1986 and Chairman of both the Lionel Murphy Foundation and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation from 1986...
, after many years of lobbying and at a cost of A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
22 million. The hospital provided medical and surgical services, and paediatric
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
and maternity services were transferred to it from nearby Port Kembla Hospital. As the population of the area grew, the volume of services provided steadily increased and placed pressure on hospital services; in 2006, physician Chris Dunn said the hospital was under-resourced and there was a "staffing crisis."
In 2007 the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP)
Royal Australasian College of Physicians
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians, or RACP, is the organisation responsible for training, educating, and representing over 9,000 physicians and paediatricians in Australia and New Zealand. It was founded in 1938....
revoked the hospital's accreditation for employing and teaching basic physician trainees due to inadequate supervision, as there were not enough senior staff employed. The hospital submitted a request to regain its status in 2008, and the RACP restored its training role for 12 months. 2008 also saw the opening of a new home birthing service and family care centre. The South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service has proposed to consolidate surgical services from nearby Bulli Hospital to Shellharbour from 2009.