VHBA In Brief: Industry news May 2021

Welcome to VHBA In Brief! This is our first edition of In Brief, so we hope you enjoy it.

As part of the Machinery of Government (MoG) changes, from 1 February 2021, we became the Victorian Health Building Authority.

While our name and visual identity has changed, our focus remains the same – to plan and build public health infrastructure that meets the current and future needs of all Victorians.

You can subscribe to our mailing list to keep up to date on our announcements and project updates.

Managing Contractor appointed for mental health beds expansion program

Lendlease Building has been appointed as the Managing Contractor for the $492 million mental health beds expansion program. The program will deliver 120 new acute mental health beds at four sites: Barwon Health’s McKellar Centre (16 beds), Western Health’s Sunshine Hospital (52 beds), the Royal Melbourne Hospital (22 beds) and Northern Health’s Epping campus (30 beds).

Indicative designs have been released for each facility, which have been co-designed with carers, clinicians, staff, and consumers with lived experience of the mental health system.

Works underway on the $1.5 billion new Footscray Hospital

Artist impression - The main entrance to the new Footscray Hospital

Construction has started on the largest health infrastructure development in Victoria’s history – the $1.5 billion new Footscray Hospital. Delivered in partnership with Western Health and the Plenary Health consortium, the project will employ more than 2,000 people during peak construction, using more than 90 per cent of materials, services and equipment sourced from local businesses.

Designs of the hospital’s striking exteriors, expansive green spaces and street entries have also released – led by Cox Architecture and Billard Leece Partnership.

$40 million LED program update

In the 2020-21 Victorian Budget, the Department of Health received $40 million to install LED lighting and solar in public hospitals. Expressions of interest from public hospitals and health services closed in early April. We’re now assessing submissions and will work with the successful health services to review and refine the proposals. The procurement model is still being worked through, with works due to commence from June 2021.

Public sector residential aged care services (interim) guidelines released

Living space within the new Creswick Nursing Home dementia friendly unit

Our public sector residential aged care services (interim) facility design guidelines have been released. They outline the specific requirements for the planning and design of residential aged care facilities and are intended to assist service providers, designers, project managers and end-users to deliver environments that enable contemporary and innovative models of aged care.

Access our technical advice and guidelines

Our technical advice and guidelines provide information and guidance to assist health agencies and service providers to effectively manage the risk and performance of Victoria's public health, mental health and aged care facilities. Our advice and guidelines cover asset management, engineering, health technical advice, property and sustainability – and are available to view and download.

Doing business with VHBA

We view our suppliers as partners, and we care about the way they do business when providing goods or services – including construction works and services. The Supplier Code of Conduct describes the minimum expectations to which our suppliers must aspire to meet in the areas of integrity, ethics and conduct, conflict of interest, gifts, benefits and hospitality, corporate governance, labour and human rights, health and safety, and environmental management.

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