TODAY marks two years since the $630 million Bendigo Hospital welcomed its first patients.
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In that time, the second stage of the project has been started and completed.
Almost 3000 babies have been delivered, including 30 sets of twins.
Bendigo Health says the new facilities have improved patient and staff experiences and boosted the quality and quantity of services in areas such as the emergency department.
The new ED sees about 2000 more patients each year than its predecessor.
Almost 105,500 people have been through the new ED since it opened.
Bendigo Health estimates about 56,000 patients will attend the ED this financial year.
Three-quarters of patients in the hospital’s ED were treated within clinically recommended times in 2017-18, the strongest result the health care group has recorded in four years.
Bendigo Health cancer centre director Leanne Anderson expected the number of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments performed at the hospital to continue to rise.
Since the hospital opened, 1861 new patients have received radiotherapy treatment and Bendigo Health staffers have administered 17,790 chemotherapy treatments.
“We are hopefully starting a haematology service over the next 12 months, as well,” Ms Anderson said.
A total of 112,618 medical images were captured in the past year.
Ms Anderson said a new PET scanning machine had been a boon for the hospital, further reducing the need for patients to travel to Melbourne.
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