Today, our new Ward 17 (ICU) opens at Northern Hospital, with the ICU team moving into the space from 8.30 am this morning.

The new state of the art ICU includes 18 intensive care beds and three dedicated paediatric bays.

The space hosts latest patient information and entertainment screens, central monitoring, negative and positive pressure isolation rooms and switchable privacy window films.

From today, the old ICU space will be renamed Ward 15.

Dr Anthony Cross, ICU Director, said the move went smoothly due to extensive and detailed planning and preparation.

“It has been a massive involvement of people to make this happen. Our nursing staff have had numerous days of preparation, and this has been a good day and a great team exercise,” he said.

Northern Health Chief Executive, Siva Sivarajah, thanked staff for such a smooth transition.

“I’d like to thank all staff who were involved in the ICU move today, from the planning and operational readiness teams to the ICU staff who moved the patients safely.”

Tomorrow, the Minister for Health and Ambulance Services, Jenny Mikakos, will officially open the new unit.

The new ICU is the first stage of the $162.7 million Northern Hospital Stage 2 Expansion Project, which will provide a seven-storey tower including an additional 96 inpatient beds, three new operating theatres and provision for a rooftop helipad in the future.

The expansion will allow for an additional 10,000 patients to be treated every year, and extra space has been earmarked for future expansions of cardiology services, catheter labs and medical imaging.