Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre has officially opened in Albury bringing state-of-the-art cancer treatment to the North East Victoria and Southern New South Wales region. Built adjacent to the Albury Hospital facing Borella Road, the striking three-storey regional cancer centre has united cancer services, offering a place to educate, support, research, diagnose and treat all forms of cancer.
Delivered without any of the traditional aspects of a hospital, the centre is designed to emphasise tranquility to reduce stress on patients, visitors and staff. Two courtyards at ground level and a large central space provide connectivity between levels, obvious wayfinding and harness natural light throughout. Soft colours and textures with natural finishes were used to provide visual comfort and a sense of the bringing the outdoors inside. The single bedrooms within the Inpatient ward achieve good northern aspect with views across landscaped courtyards.
David Leece, Project Director at BLP commented: “Patients and their wellbeing were the primary focus in the design. We have created a calming space in which families and patients can retreat to during what can be a very stressful and difficult time”
The centre boasts three radiotherapy bunkers and linear accelerators, which direct high energy beams to conform to a tumour’s shape and destroy cancer cells while healthy tissue surrounding tumours can be preserved. Other facilities also include a day oncology unit for chemotherapy treatment, a 30-bed inpatient ward, a ‘Wellness Centre’, dedicated paediatric treatment space, 17 consulting rooms, and an on-site pharmacy. The Centre is also linked to the existing Albury Hospital via a corridor at the upper level to provide servicing and access to acute facilities. David Leece added: “The design also anticipates growth in demand and includes scope to add an additional four levels in the future.
The centre was delivered under a private-public partnership model between Victorian and NSW health departments, Albury Wodonga Health, Ramsay Health, GenesisCare, Border Medical Oncology and individual oncologists and a pharmacy providers. The collaboration provides a unique model of integrated cancer care and increases the capacity of the service ensuring the community benefits most from the facility.
David Leece commented: “We are delighted to have been part of the team that has delivered a project that will make such a difference to cancer care across a wide region. We collaborated with all partners from the very beginning to ensure we delivered one of Australia’s leading cancer centres.”
