Escalating demand sees the Nepean Health Hub open its doors with over 90% of space committed

As population growth — and with it the demand for healthcare — continues to escalate in Western Sydney, the Nepean community welcomed the official opening of Cornerstone Healthcare Property Fund’s (CHP Fund) Nepean Health Hub, bringing a range of healthcare services to the region.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics*, Penrith City’s population grew to 219,173, an increase of 1.35 per cent in the 12 months to 30 June 2021 — in direct contrast to Greater Sydney’s population which declined by 0.10 per cent over the same period.

Simon Heazlewood, a Director of the Manager of CHP Fund, said this, along with the prediction that Penrith’s population would escalate by another staggering 52.3 per cent in the next 15 years**, made the Nepean Health Hub a welcome addition for the surrounding community.

“We will see significant pressure on the local health system for many years to come — not only due to population growth but also due to the percentage of those aged over 65 increasing from 12 to 15 per cent over the next two decades,” said Mr Heazlewood.

“We also anticipate that the Nepean Health Hub will see an influx of patients from the Blue Mountains LGA which will see 29 per cent of its population over the age of 65 by 2040, according to Health Projects International.”

“We are therefore delighted to celebrate the opening of Nepean Health Hub today as our vision to bring the local community convenient, integrated healthcare under one roof becomes a reality, while generating an additional 100 full-time healthcare jobs.

“The $50m hub includes integrated GP centre Octa Medical, Castlereagh Imaging, a future pharmacy, pathology services, various medical specialists and The Fertility Centre, offering affordable IVF options close to home for some of the one in six Australian couples who struggle to have babies.”

Dr Rabia Shaikh, Clinical Director at The Fertility Centre (TFC) Nepean said her team today celebrated being able to bring accessible fertility care to support the people of the Western Sydney region in growing their families.

“Virtus Health is delighted to be able to offer a new fertility service in the Penrith area,” said Dr Shaikh.

“The Fertility Centre, Nepean, will allow more people to become parents closer to home. We are excited to bring the latest IVF technology together with an established group of local specialists to provide the very highest level of fertility care in the heart of the Nepean Health Precinct.”

The Fertility Centre, Nepean is part of the Virtus Health network and is the first lab in the Southern Hemisphere to be built using their OneLab methodology. 

OneLab was created after drawing on the collective experience of all Virtus Health’s IVF clinics and their global expertise of laboratory design and aims to deliver significant improvements in technology, safety and IVF science to help increase pregnancy success rates.

Mr Heazlewood said the inclusion of a service like The Fertility Centre as part of the Nepean Health Hub’s integrated healthcare offering, reflected what the health hub model hoped to achieve and where he believes the industry is heading.

“We have already delivered three CHP health hubs in Queensland, NSW and the ACT with several more hubs underway or in planning, and they all demonstrate the success of offering one-stop, collaborative health destinations in close proximity to hospital precincts,” said Mr Heazlewood.

“The calibre of our tenants across all these hubs reflects the high demand for quality medical centres where healthcare providers can collaborate and offer better patient care as the health industry seeks to respond to the aging population and changing healthcare needs and expectations.

“This is what CHP seeks to achieve — attracting the best in the industry to deliver a greater level of healthcare to our local communities.”

The Nepean Health Hub is located adjacent to the Nepean Public and Private Hospitals transforming the healthcare experience for many local patients, as well as complementing the planned $1 billion investment into the hospital precinct.