The NSW government has pledged to upgrade two Sydney hospitals and reduce the wait times for some elective surgeries as part of a nearly $1 billion pre-election health spend.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Monday promised $479 million for additional beds and and an upgrade for Ryde Hospital, plus $385 million for St George Hospital.
"These are two hospitals in the suburbs in growing communities which need that extra care," she told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
The premier also announced a $31 million funding boost to deliver an extra 10,000 cataract surgeries over the next four years.
"Cataracts impact the lives of so many of our senior citizens ... so we want to make it even easier to access," Ms Berejiklian said.
The funding will employ 46 clinical staff including nurses, surgeons and anaesthetists, and will reduce the time between surgery on a patient's first and second eye.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said an additional $45 million has also been promised to deliver 8000 more paediatric operations.
"This is a super Monday for health," Mr Hazzard said alongside the premier.
The funding is expected to reduce the time taken to receive non-urgent elective paediatric surgeries by around three months and halve the time taken to receive semi-urgent elective surgeries.
The announcement follows a pledge on Sunday to hire an extra 5000 nurses, midwives and other frontline staff and comes less than five weeks before the state election on March 23.
Australian Associated Press
