Shellharbour Hospital is a major district hospital located in the

Shellharbour Shellharbour (also known as Shellharbour Village) is a suburb located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It also gives its name to the local government area, City of Shellharbour, and its central business district, Shellha ...

area of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. 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 (SESIAHS) was formed in 2005 from the amalgamation of the Illawarra Area Health Service and South Eastern Sydney Area Health Service. It was disbanded on 1 January 2011 as part of the Nationa ...

, and receives students from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

and

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...

Services

Shellharbour Hospital provides medical, surgical,

obstetric Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgic ...

, emergency and

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

services to the Shoalhaven and northern

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...

region, operating 87 beds and a 8-bed Day Surgery unit and 69 mental health in-patient beds. It also operates a satellite

dialysis Dialysis may refer to: * Dialysis (chemistry), a process of separating molecules in solution **Electrodialysis, used to transport salt ions from one solution to another through an ion-exchange membrane under the influence of an applied electric po ...

unit, and is also a leading provider of

gynaecological Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

and

laparoscopic surgery Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.Medli ...

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 is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

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 Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman o ...

, after many years of lobbying and at a cost of A$22 million. The hospital provided medical and surgical services, and

paediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Prev ...

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 The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is a not-for-profit professional organisation responsible for training and educating physicians and paediatricians across Australia and New Zealand. The RACP is responsible for training both ...

(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.

Notes

External links

Shellharbour Hospital Website
{{Authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1986 Hospitals in New South Wales City of Shellharbour Hospitals established in 1986 1986 establishments in Australia

Services

History

See also

Notes

External links