Supporting healthcare that grows with communities

As communities evolve, so do their healthcare needs. The Wollongong area has seen significant residential growth in recent years. In the town of Dapto, we’ve helped create a health centre to meet increasing demand for services.

With such a diverse, fast-changing demographic, it can be a challenge addressing the primary health needs of people living in the Shoalhaven local health district. Working with the council, we designed a community health centre that makes the most of NSW’s HealthOne model, (created to make provision more efficient by unifying Commonwealth-funded general practice and state-funded primary and community care services).

Key benefits of the project include:

• More appropriate level of services for the growing population and shift in age structure;

• Improved access to diverse ethnic communities.

• Access to comprehensive mental health care through local partnerships;

• Improved access to healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

By carefully integrating general practice, specialist and community health services in once place, Dapto Community Health Centre is able to deliver multidisciplinary healthcare, in tune with today’s needs.

The architectural design of the centre had to create a calm, welcoming environment that served a hugely diverse community, while being in keeping with the masterplan principles of the town centre – namely, improving public spaces, supporting vibrant, diverse businesses and being close to transport links.

Sympathetic to the scale of the neighbourhood, which is largely two-story, we created a contemporary stone building in neutral tones. The large glass frontage acts like a frame for the activity inside, expressing openness and transparency, that helps build trust in the community – important when introducing new healthcare concepts or trying to inspire communities that can often be hard to reach.