May was a month of milestones for staff and the broader community in Tweed, celebrating the move and official opening of the new Tweed Valley Hospital.
The new $723.3 million hospital at Cudgen was officially opened on Wednesday 22 May by the NSW Premier Chris Minns and Minister for Health and Regional Health, Ryan Park.
A cultural welcome by the Gudjinburra Dance Group kicked off the event, followed by the Tweed Valley South Sea Islander Communities Incorporated and the Tweed Gold Coast South Sea Islander Association, with over 200 special guests on site to witness the unveiling of the commemorative plaque.
The official opening was held just one week following the successful move of patients and hospital services from The Tweed Hospital to the new facility.
121 patients were safely moved approximately 15km down the road to the Tweed Valley Hospital, in what was the biggest whole-of-hospital move in regional NSW history. It also proved to be the fastest move over the longest distance.
NNSWLHD Director Clinical Operations Lynne Weir said the transition to the new facility is the culmination of more than 12 months of logistical planning, while the project itself has been more than six years in the making.
“This is a momentous milestone for everyone involved in the project, and of course for our patients, staff and the wider community. The level of collaboration, expertise and engagement which has brought us to this point is simply outstanding,” Lynne said.
Hospital clinicians and staff worked with the project team as well as key partners including NSW Ambulance and NSW Police, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all patients before, during and after the transfer to the new hospital.
When the Tweed Valley Hospital opened to patients, The Tweed Hospital in Powell Street, Tweed Heads, closed.
Our final patient, Mrs Doreen Cording, received a guard of honour from emergency department staff as she was transferred from the old Tweed Hospital to make her way by ambulance to the new Tweed Valley Hospital.
