Westmead Hospital history

Westmead Hospital was the first purpose-built university teaching hospital in Sydney since Royal Prince Alfred in 1882.

In March 1930, the Parramatta District Agricultural and Horticultural Society obtained use of the current site of Westmead Hospital by a grant from the Department of Lands.

Jervis, J. The cradle city of Australia: A history of Parramatta, 1788-1961, Parramatta City Council, 1961.

On 29 April 1974, then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam proposes a major hospital to meet western Sydney’s growing healthcare needs.

In 1993, the planning for a research institute at Westmead Hospital began.

Westmead Private Hospital was built by Alpha Health Care in 1999.

The services provided at Charles Wentworth Private Hospital, Wentworthville (formerly Wentworthville Community Hospital) were transferred across to Westmead Private Hospital in October 2000.

In April 2001 Alpha Health Care was purchased by Ramsay Health Care.

In 2002, work started on a major expansion of the hospital called the WIN Program.

In 2004, a contract worth in excess of A$142 million for refurbishment and development of new facilities at Westmead Hospital was awarded to Thiess.

In 2010 the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research became an independent public company with membership comprising the NSW Government, the University of Sydney and the Westmead Medical Research Foundation.

Following the formation of Local Health Networks on 1 January 2011, Westmead Hospital became part of the Western Sydney Local Health District, together with Westmead Dental Hospital, and district hospitals at Blacktown, Auburn and Mount Druitt.

In March 2012, a food-court style emporium was opened on the ground level precinct introducing a wide variety of cuisines to the standard hospital fare, including a sweets and desserts cafe, kebabs, pizza, fresh salads and sandwich bar, gelato station, and various selections of hot foods.

On 6 November 2013, NSW Government approved 1 million dollars for further expansion to better serve growing community and to provide a world-class hospital facilities.

The new building was officially opened by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and New South Wales Premier, Mike Baird, on the 9th of October 2014.New South Wales Health Minister, Jillian Skinner, and her federal counterpart Peter Dutton, also spoke at the opening.

On 6 October 2015, New South Wales Premier Mike Baird unveiled the “world-class health city”, central concept design for stage 1 of the $900 million Westmead redevelopment.

In 2016, a new road, Dragonfly Drive, built to ease congestion along Institute Road and to become the primary access point into the Institute Road car park.

In 2017, with the $60million investment at Westmead precinct, University of Sydney strengthen its partnership with the Westmead precinct.

In 2018, pathology relocated to new purpose-built facility, the ear, nose & throat (ENT) and audiology departments moved into their new home and in February Westmead Connectivity Centre, an initiative to match job seekers with local employment opportunities was opened.

In 2019, new and refurbished clinical spaces were connected and the expanded facility transformed into a contemporary facility with a new main entry.

http://www.westmeadproject.health.nsw.gov.au/, Retrieved on 2 June 2020