History made: First patients treated in new children’s ward at Blacktown Hospital

Western Sydney families can now access the highest quality care for their children closer to home with the opening of the new Paediatric Ward at Blacktown Hospital.

Stevie Mahe, 6, was in good hands on Monday 14 March when his mother Loleini Palu rushed him to hospital suffering a serious asthma attack.

“I went to hospital to get fixed for my breath,” Stevie said.

“We were seen almost immediately in the Emergency Department and everything moved fast from there,” Loleini said.

The doctors were very informative along the way, reassuring me he was going to be okay and making him feel as comfortable as they could.

“All the staff are really helpful. They made sure we were at ease and helped out a lot.”

The purpose-built new ward is the latest part of the $700 million Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals Expansion Project.

Stevie’s parents were grateful for the bedside lounge as they took turns staying by his side, while Stevie enjoyed his TV and the playroom stocked with books, games and activities while he recovered.

Bright, colourful and charming art by Australian illustrator Jane Reiseger wrap around the walls and over the doors, creating a welcoming place to help reduce anxiety and promote wellbeing and recovery.

The artworks depict features from the local Blacktown area including playgrounds, Eastern Creek Racetrack and Raging Waters theme park.

Department co-head Dr Stephen Brancatisano yesterday acknowledged the hard work by many people over the span of more than a decade to make the ward a reality.

This allows us to deliver a best-practice network of paediatric care out of Blacktown and Mount Druitt hospitals, which is fantastic for children and their families in Western Sydney.

Dr Stephen Brancatisano

“As today is World Social Work Day I’d also like to acknowledge the social workers who are an essential part of our team in providing really high quality multidisciplinary care.”

Department co-head Dr Chris Yong added: “It’s very exciting to realise the vision of delivering high quality paediatric care close to home for the children of Blacktown and surrounds.”

Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals general manager Ned Katrib congratulated the team for their hard work and commitment to get the ward up and running.

“The talented cohort of medical, nursing and support staff are absolutely dedicated to providing the very best care to children and young people in our local area,” Ned said.

The ward opened with 12 beds, delivering a variety of specialised paediatric medical and surgical services, while supporting the paediatric services which continue to be offered at Mount Druitt Hospital. For further information click here.