INFORMATION FOR MEDICAL STAFF
The Hospitals
The hospitals at Campbelltown and Camden are noted for their friendly work
environment. Campbelltown Hospital is a modern 200 bed acute general hospital
located in the city of Campbelltown to the southwest of Sydney. Approximately
20000 inpatients are treated each year. Camden Hospital is approximately 20
minutes north by road from Campbelltown, and treats approximately 6000
inpatients per year.
Over the next two years, a major redevelopment program will see
the hospitals increase in size to a total of approximately 400 beds and extend the
level of services provided. A major focus of the development is Ambulatory Care.
The hospital has a strong commitment to Clinical Quality Improvement.
The hospitals between them boasts a full range of district
level services including Ambulatory Care, Internal Medicine, General Surgery,
Urology, ENT, Ophthalmology, Plastics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Anaesthetics,
Rehabilitation, Geriatrics, Psychiatry, Paediatrics and Orthopaedics. The busy
Emergency Department at Campbelltown currently sees 34000 patients per annum, a
third of who are paediatric. As part of the growth phase, a brand new Emergency
Department is being designed with state of the art facilities in each of the
hospitals.
The Radiology Department provides diagnostic ultrasound as well
as normal facilities. A CT scanner has been installed recently. Nuclear Medicine
is available in the town and specialist services are also provided at the nearby
teaching hospital at Liverpool. The majority of consultant cover is provided by
VMOs (Visiting Medical Officers). There are full time consultant staff specialists
in Ambulatory Care, Paediatrics, Psychiatry, and Aged Care and Rehabilitation.
The tertiary referral centre is 25 minutes away at Liverpool
Hospital, which has a range of services including cardiothoracic surgery and
neurosurgery. The Liverpool Hospital is part of a network of health services in
the South Western Sydney Area Health Service, and provides tertiary level services
for residents of Macarthur.
There are fifteen registrar posts including accredited positions in General
Surgery, Medicine, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Psychiatry, which
rotate from teaching hospitals in Sydney. The rest of the junior and middle grade
staff is made up of ten seconded RMOs from Sydney, Paediatric secondments and
Career Medical Officers.
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Teaching
There is an active formal general teaching program for resident
medical staff and a separate program for medical staff in the Department of
Emergency Medicine. Staff specialists and VMOs participate in these programs as
well as providing bedside teaching. Campbelltown Hospital has a close affiliation
with the University of New South Wales and students regularly spend time at the
hospital.
Access
Located 50 kilometers southwest of Sydney, Campbelltown is a
one-hour car journey from the city via the M5 motorway. The extensive beaches of
the Illawarra region, which are much cleaner and less crowded than the city
beaches, are a 40 minute drive through the country to the east. Canberra is 250
kilometres and 2½ hours drive to the southwest. The Blue Mountains are
approximately 45 minutes to the northwest by car. The picturesque townships of
Bowral and Picton are situated in the Southern Highlands 45 minutes to the south.
A train service runs every half hour and takes approximately one
hour to the city.
The station is about a 20 minute walk from the hospital or
there is a regular bus service timed to connect with the train. Sydney International
Airport is a one hour drive and from here is a 1 hour flight to the Gold Coast, 3
hours to Cairns on the Great Barrier Reef and 3 hours to Alice Springs and Ayers
Rock in the Red Centre.
Climate
Campbelltown has a temperate climate similar to Sydney, although
being set back from the coast it tends to be slightly hotter in summer and cooler
on winter nights. Rainfall tends to be in the form of afternoon thunderstorms that
build up on warmer days and in general rain does not last more than a couple of
days before better weather returns.
Accomodation
Accommodation is provided for a limited number of doctors. The
accommodation is on site and consists of modern, two-bedroom apartments with
shared bathroom and cooking facilities.
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CAMPBELLTOWN
The town of Campbelltown named by Governor Macquarie after his
wife's maiden name was first settled in 1820 by wheat growers and dairy farmers
who were drawn to the area by the rich pastureland west of the rockier and drier
coastline. It remained a small centre servicing the surrounding agricultural land
until the 1950's, when the rapid growth of the Australian population lead to a
demand for new towns to accommodate the immigrating population. Campbelltown was
chosen as the site of a new satellite city, close to Sydney but with its own
metropolitan identity. Since then, it has expanded to a population of approximately
180,000.
There is a full range of services including five major
shopping centres, cinema and sporting facilities. The University of Western
Sydney, Macarthur Campus has an extensive list of adult education courses. There
is also a well-equipped gymnasium that is open to the public.
Immigration during the 1950's brought ethnic diversity to the
area and a number of international cuisines are represented in local restaurants.
Geography
Campbelltown has a rural setting typified by rolling countryside
and there are a number of scenic tourist drives that radiate from the town. To the
west lies the Great Dividing Range, just south of the spectacular Blue Mountains,
which are famous for bush walking, rockclimbing and the vast underground cave system
of Jenolan.
The eastern edge of the town is marked by the Georges River.
This area is protected by the 2000 hectare Georges River Nature Reserve which is
home to many species of native flora and fauna and is popular for bush walks and
swimming in summer.
Fifteen minutes away is the historic town of Camden, where the
local airport provides flying lessons, joy flights and glider flights.
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