John Holland welcomed to the SCH family
Helping children and young people live their healthiest lives is behind everything staff do at The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (SCHN).
So, it's only fitting that John Holland - the company the project team has partnered with to build the $658 million Sydney Children's Hospital, Stage 1 (SCH) and Minderoo Children's Comprehensive Cancer Centre (MCCCC) Randwick redevelopment - puts health and wellbeing at the heart of construction.
John Holland has over a 70-year history of delivering significant and complex construction projects across Australia and New Zealand. The company has completed around 50 health and research facilities, including children's hospitals and bespoke paediatric departments.
Project Director Lizzie Cox recently told an SCH staff forum that the wellbeing, mental health, and safety of staff and the community are at the centre of the project.
The company has committed to innovative safety measures, mental health support and training programs and five-day weeks for construction workers.
John Holland is at the forefront of a cultural shift in the industry to prioritise health and wellbeing," said Project Director Lizzie Cox.
"Helping young people live their healthiest lives goes beyond providing quality spaces for healthcare."
"We need to create a positive, caring and welcoming culture that celebrates patients, their families and staff and provides a meaningful connection between the community and the work being completed," Lizzie Cox added.
Lizzie Cox said John Holland had taken the same innovative approach to social and environmental sustainability, including offsetting carbon emissions, utilising recyclable materials and supporting local employment and training.
"John Holland is committed to providing a cleaner, healthier future for our children."
We also aim to boost diversity, including for Aboriginal participation, apprentices and trainees, tradeswomen, long term unemployed and under 25s," said Lizzie Cox.
What's in store for the Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick?
The world-class paediatric health hub within Sydney's Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct will lead the way in clinical care, research and teaching nationally - transforming the lives of patients, their families, health staff and workers delivering the project.
Incorporating feedback from staff, patients and their families, the new building will feature more single-patient rooms, family-friendly zones, play areas and a pet-friendly zone to provide a welcoming environment and promote healing.
Also speaking at the forum, SCH redevelopment program director Cathy Lovell said hundreds of staff and community members had been involved in the hospital's planning and design since 2019.
"Throughout the main stages of the project, from strategic planning, master planning, to design, we have collaborated, listened and refined the space with our staff, patients and families," said Cathy Lovell.
"We've achieved some unique designs that will set the new standard for paediatric care."
We have designed the infrastructure to facilitate the delivery of paediatric, family-centred care," SCH redevelopment program director Cathy Lovell said.
The new hospital building will include:
- children's emergency department
- children’s intensive care unit
- medical short stay unit
- neurosciences centre
- inpatient units for medical, surgical, and sleep paediatric pharmacy
- virtual care centre and hospital command centre
- improved parent amenities, including overnight bereavement rooms
- education and training spaces for staff.
- Minderoo Children's Comprehensive Cancer Centre, including:
- day oncology centre
- inpatient oncology specialities
- wet and dry laboratories to support cancer research education, training and research spaces
The SCH Stage 1 and MCCCC construction project will support almost 1,200 direct jobs during construction and help create 500 roles within paediatrics across the Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct.