Wantirna Health / Peter James Centre

 Progress at December 2006

Wantirna Health (formerly known as Knox Health Facility)

Building works for Wantirna Health commenced in June 2006 and have been progressing extremely well with construction within its time schedule and budget.

Planning has commenced to define the model of care and ensure that the service is able to operate late 2007.

 Media releases

 Images

Wantirna Health Facility Progress

Wantirna Health

Dialysis funding announcement at the Peter James Centre

The Victorian Health Minister joins Susan Nurse Unit Manager and patient Julia at the funding announcement for the expansion of the dialysis program

 Project background

Wantirna Health

Funded by the Victorian Government in May 2005 to the value of $30m, Wantirna Health will be the first all encompassing purpose designed and built facility providing palliative care and rehabilitation services in Eastern Health.

Located in the Shire of Knox (at the corner of Mountain Hwy and Boronia Road) Wantirna Health is an exciting project for the community.

Wantirna Health will include:

• 30 palliative care beds
• 30 complex care / geriatric evaluation & management beds
• Community Rehabilitation Centre
• Co-location with Eastern Palliative Care
• Education & Research Precinct
• Eastern Health Administration
• On site car parking for 200 vehicles

Wantirna Health is a purpose built facility which will provide optimal patient care. The Facility includes a two bedroom innovative designed Ward area that both increases individual patient privacy and access to amenities while the other patient is receiving treatment.  In addition the service has the capacity on the ward to provide out of hours inpatient rehabilitation therapy for patients requiring more supportive or intensive therapy or those more complex patients who are unable to attend the main therapy area.  

The Facility is further being built on the principles of an Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD)* including:

• Capturing and recycling of 8.5 million litres of water from the roof for grey water purposes including within the facilities toilets and showers
• Rain water channelled from the car park to the garden landscaped areas for irrigation
• Solar Heating
• Clever building designs to maximise heat retention in the winter and release in the summer including window shading, insulation techniques, floor heating
• Building materials used be environmentally friendly products
• Energy efficient lighting including automatic dimming according to light levels and automatically controlled external lighting

Wantirna Health is scheduled to be operational early 2008.

The Wantirna Health Community Advisory Group

12 positions on the Wantirna Health Community Advisory Group (CAG) have been filled following a nomination process in late 2005. Membership includes local business representatives, local residents, municipal council representation, associated health agency representation including Knox Private Hospital and Eastern Palliative Care, Eastern Health representation and representation from the Department of Human Services.

The role and purpose of the CAG is to provide the Government and Eastern Health with a strategy to enhance the culture and amenity for the new facility, enhance the communication with residents and stakeholders and present any issues raised by local community groups.

The CAG works in partnership with Eastern Health and will provide leadership in promoting community participation and advocacy during the project implementation. Acting as an adviser to the Project Control Group (PCG) the CAG will provide a bridge to the wider community.

The CAG role includes the following:

• Helping to deliver on community participation principles
• Providing a forum for community debate about community needs in the Wantirna Health
• Ensuring that planning maintains a patient/consumer focus
• Providing a community perspective on innovations of care delivery
• Assisting in the development and implementation of a communication strategy to promote the Knox Health Care Facility within the community

The ideal forum for community discussion and participation will be CAG meetings. Some consideration will be given to making selected CAG meetings open to the public.

The CAG meets regularly and has considered options for the future name of the facility.

Peter James Centre – Haemodialysis Service Extension

There have been significant developments in relation to Haemodialysis Services across Eastern Health.

The Peter James Centre has provided Dialysis Services since 1997 and in 2001 expanded the program to a 12 Chair service. Recognising the continuing demand, a further 8 chair expansion has commenced at the Peter James Centre during 2006 and is scheduled to be operational in early 2007. The expansion of the program will allow for an additional 32 patients to be dialysed at the Centre per week (80 patients per week in total).

The expansion of the dialysis service at the Peter James Centre has further provided the Centre to undertake some additional internal infrastructure upgrades including the development of a dedicated pharmacy space and the development of a new staff and visitor café.

For further information on Capital Projects or just to provide feedback please contact Eastern Health Community Relations at community.relations@easternhealth.org.au