When it stopped pouring, the pour began

PROJECT NEWSLETTER March/April 2015

The tail end of Cyclone Maria that had savaged eastern Qld in mid-February also produced downpours in the Northern Rivers.

Byron Shire recorded upwards of 140mm of rain, followed by several days of clearing showers, many of them heavy. This abnormal weather event resulted in a delayed concrete pour for the Byron Central Hospital foundations.

By February 27th the weather had cleared and the site was sufficiently dry for the first of a series of pours to begin. The photos here are from the second pour, on March 4th.

Construction Facts

The project will see the placement of over 3,000 cubic meters of concrete - enough to fill 1.2 Olympic sized swimming pools.

The total floor area of the hospital is 10,000 square meters, the equivalent of a rugby field.

The new hospital will use over 225 tonnes of reinforcing steel, the same weight as the Statue of Liberty (or in a more local context, 298 cows).

Left – the first concrete pour delivered the ground floor of the administration block.

When it stopped pouring, the pour began


Cancer services within the Tweed Byron Health Service Group are part of the Northern NSW Local Health District. These services include Medical Oncology and Haematology.

The Tweed Hospital is the primary Cancer Care and Haematology Unit for the Tweed Byron Health Service Group. There are both Oncologists and Haematologists full-time at The Tweed Hospital, providing services to the Tweed Byron Health Service Group. These services are supported by nursing, allied health and administration working together as a multidisciplinary team.

Chemotherapy Services are provided under a privately referred non-inpatient model.

A satellite unit was developed at Murwillumbah Hospital in 2010 providing consultation by Medical Oncologists and the provision of less complex treatments for patients of the community.

We are currently developing a satellite service at Byron Bay District Hospital. At present both Medical Oncologists and Haematologists provide regular consultation clinics and we will be expanding to provide a service for less complex treatment protocols and supportive care.

The primary centre remains at The Tweed Hospital with all referrals triaged by the Medical Oncologists and Haematologists. Clinical Trial patients will continue to primarily be treated at The Tweed Hospital.

The aim is to provide 4 treatment chairs and one bed space at the new Byron Central Hospital.

The service will offer coordinated, patient centered care, including collaboration of other health services to meet the full physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs of the patient, their family and carers.

The service will provide timely and coordinated care for acutely unwell patients and decrease unplanned avoidable admissions via the Emergency Department. A telephone triage service will be provided, with patients calling this service being directed to suitable services (Emergency Department, General Practice, Cancer Care and Haematology Unit).

Staff Specialist consulting services and Medical Oncology clinician/s will be based within the unit.

Radiotherapy services will be arranged with local public and private providers.

Service Profile – Cancer Care & Haematology

Chemotherapy patient Joan Briggs, with Sue Brooks, Tweed Hospital’s Nurse Unit Manager, Cancer Care & Haematology.


Australia’s hospitals have long been regarded as a hub of their communities, especially in rural and regional areas. The reputations and traditional links established by Byron Shire’s present hospitals in Mullumbimby and Byron Bay will be further enhanced in the months and years ahead.

The process of linking Byron Central Hospital (BCH) with its community has gathered pace in recent weeks, with approaches being made to a number of local schools, primary and secondary, public and private, aimed at increasing the awareness of students – and their teachers and parent bodies – about the BCH development.

Interest has been keen about “what’s happening on the other side of those fences”, and a range of activities is being planned. These include supervised site visits for school groups, and some in-school competitions on work-site safety awareness.

As a public works project of this size occurs very rarely in the local area, especially on a ‘green field’ site, the team will be taking every opportunity to show our students the potential for trades careers.

Schools visits to discuss vocational prospects will be undertaken, with follow-up offered to students expressing particular interest in careers in the fields of architectural design, engineering, building construction and ancillary trade specialties.

Engagement with TAFE students will be another key focus area, and the project team welcomes any approaches or inquiries from individuals or families interested in getting more information.

OH & S signs are part of the briefing kit provided to Byron Community Primary School students participating in a competition to design posters relating to the hospital construction project.

The results of the competition, which offers prizes of bikes from Sunrise Cycles in Byron Bay, will be announced after the Easter school vacation.

Byron Community Primary School Director Emma Wappett with (l) Brendan Sweeney and Stuart Clark, from project construction firm Brookfield Multiplex.

Community links are being fostered


Where possible, local contractors have been engaged for the Byron Central Hospital project, providing construction and fit-out expertise from below ground level and throughout the buildings that will make up the new hospital.

Part of the selection criteria was their commitment to providing employment opportunities through the Aboriginal Participation Scheme. Two local construction worker positions were filled by head contractor Brookfield Multiplex.

The local contractors include -

Civil Contractor (See Civil, 20+ staff) Electrical (Star Electrical, 3+); Hydraulic (A. Murray

& Sons, 3+) Hydraulic (Laser Plumbing, 3+) Site accommodation (ATCO, 7) Site cleaner (ICM property Services, 1) Concreter (East Coast Concrete, local

subcontractor 15+) Steel fixer (IPR Reo, local subcontractor 6+) Form worker (Pacific Formwork, local

subcontractor 15+) Reo Supply (Nuemann Steel, local supplier) Pumping (Lennox Pumps Concrete Pumping)

Acting locally – area’s contractors preferred

Documents

When it stopped pouring, the pour began