The management of Dungog Community Hospital wishes to announce some changes to the hospital.

Dungog Health Service Manager Arnold Tammekand said an automatic door has been installed at the Emergency Department Entrance.

Dungog Community Hospital also has a proposal in place to replace the Administration Entrance Door, also with an automatic sliding door to make entry to that area safer and more user friendly.

Further door changes have taken place with the addition of another automatic door from the Emergency Waiting Room to the hospital corridor, along with a new locked door adjacent to the Nurses Station reception window and the locking of the other door to the ward area.

"All of these changes are part of a security upgrade complying with recommendations from an audit. Further changes to windows and reception areas will also be made in the future."

"We would also like to remind people to use the Emergency Entrance doors after 5pm as the administration entrance is locked overnight."

"Lock-down procedures at the hospital are also in place after 8pm. However the public can use the doors bells to gain entry to the hospital," Arnold said.

"We have also recently added intruder alarms to our Community Services Centre and new community laundry."

"Parking adjacent to the hospital is also under review, firstly to allow a Disabled and Patient Drop-Off Point to be allocated and a No Parking area to the fire hydrant area," Arnold said.

"We would also like to appeal to all motorists to slow down while driving in the vicinity and be aware that you are in an area where not all pedestrians are as mobile as most."

"I wish to thank our maintenance manager Kerry Muddle for all his hard work in ensuring all these upgrades happen at the hospital," Arnold said.

"While things are constantly changing as we move with the times, we at Dungog Community Hospital never lose sight of our main aim to provide the best healthcare and a quality environment to the community of Dungog and its surroundings."