The $25,000 project aims to solve a longstanding Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) issue by levelling the concrete path leading to the area and installing a new ramp complete with safety barriers at the hospital’s side entrance.

The construction will be funded as part of Xstrata’s $7.5 million corporate social involvement (CSI) program, which also includes initiatives to bring more doctors and medical equipment to the Cudgegong region and financial backing for several community and schooling programs in the area.

Mudgee and Gulgong Acting Health Services Manager Gwenda Ingram said staff had asked that the funding be used on this particular project instead of additional equipment because “it was something many people have wanted to happen over many years”.

Ms Ingram said that although the helicopter service’s usage varied between three times in a weekend and three times in a month, the safety risk involved was constant for the handful of Medical Retrieval Unit staff and critically ill or injured patients who use the space each time.

“The pathway from the hospital to the helicopter pad is narrow, uneven and slippery, and the current ramp gradient is very steep and does not comply with health facility guidelines,” she said.

The bumpy, cracked concrete and the angle of the ramp at the moment mean it can also be a dangerous one for anyone in a lot of pain or suffering spinal injuries.

“It’s possible it has been this way since the hospital opened in the 50s, and there’s a lot of services that use this area, so an upgrade is fantastic for the whole hospital.”

Western NSW Local Area Health District assistant engineer Jamie Goodlet said while there had been no accidents on the pathway yet, there had been a lot of complaints about the ride.

“The hospital’s trolleys have a fifth wheel in them to keep them level, and when it hits the ramp sometimes it skews the whole trolley and you end up heading the wrong way, so it really is an uncomfortable ride for the patient,” he said.

“The bumpy, cracked concrete and the angle of the ramp at the moment mean it can also be a dangerous one for anyone in a lot of pain or suffering spinal injuries.”

The new ramp, however, will run down the side of the hospital wall, making it a more direct route and therefore saving time, and it’s more than twice the length of the current ramp (around 130m), making the gradient significantly less, he said.

“We also have a lot of waste disposal nearby and the concrete will be upgraded for that area too, so it’s really going to benefit everybody that uses that end of the hospital,” he said.

Ms Ingram said she couldn’t put into words how beneficial Xstrata’s funding package was for the hospital.

“You can’t really describe how helpful it is,” she said.

“This is a huge project for us, and their generosity – you just can’t explain what it has done.”

Construction on the new pathway will begin in early May and is expected to take up to 10 days to complete.

The project adheres to all health guidelines and regulations and all services that use the area have been consulted.