As Wollongong Private Hospital takes shape in the heart of the city's medical precinct, doctors and other health providers are clamouring to be part of the $90 million state-of-the-art facility.
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Figtree Private Hospital chief executive David Crowe said he was busy fielding calls from specialists from the Illawarra and further afield, keen to work in the operating theatres or lease professional suites.
Mr Crowe said construction on the five-level private hospital was ahead of schedule at the Crown Street site, near Wollongong's public hospital.
On track to open in January 2016, he said the Ramsay Health Care facility would offer a full range of medical, surgical and maternity services including 150 beds, nine theatres, a cardiac catheter laboratory, an eight-chair oncology unit, 10-bed intensive care unit and six-cot special nursery.
"We are a bit ahead of schedule as we've had a great run with the weather so now we're at the fine-tuning stage of design," Mr Crowe said.
"There will be a definite Ramsay feel to the hospital, which will almost feel like a hotel, from the foyer with its marble tiles to the professional medical suites to the private rooms with en suites."
Ramsay Health Care operates the 101-bed Figtree Private Hospital, which will become a rehabilitation facility once services move to the new facility.
Figtree Private's 350 staff members will relocate to Wollongong, while an additional 200 jobs will be created.
"Patients and visitors, doctors and other staff are all really excited about the move, and there's plenty of interest from specialists from the region, from Sydney and beyond," Mr Crowe said.
"It's about taking what we offer at Figtree Private to the next level - there will be a higher level of care and more complex procedures such as open-heart surgery on offer at Wollongong."
Sydney-based construction company AW Edwards is in charge of the build.
"Everything's tracking very well - we've been through the difficult phase of getting the deep excavation and underground construction complete," AW Edwards director Greg D'Arcy said.