One of the largest health infrastructure projects built in Victoria, the $1.1 billion redevelopment of Frankston Hospital, has opened with a new name – Peninsula University Hospital – and includes ENT and audiology services.
The new 12-storey tower includes a range of new or expanded services including a new and expanded emergency department, 15 new operating theatres and, once fully operational, will include 130 more beds.
The hospital offers a children’s audiology service, ENT surgery and ENT research led by ENT surgeon Mr Andrew Martin. Other ENT specialists are Mr Vibhuti Mahanta and Dr Angel Jesu.
The expanded infrastructure provides a strong foundation for specialist recruitment, training, and workforce development, supporting future growth in ENT surgical care.
A Victorian Government spokesperson said the opening marked the largest health infrastructure investment in Melbourne’s south-east.
“Peninsula University Hospital delivers significant expansions across a wide range of clinical activities, including capacities for ENT surgical care,” the spokesperson said. “We are working with health services to improve triage and referrals, train more specialists, and increase appointment availability.”
Ms Jacinta Allan, Victorian Premier and Ms Mary-Anne Thomas, Minister for Health, officially declared the hospital ready for patients and toured the new facilities on 19 January 2026, as staff began moving into the revamped facility. It opened its doors to the first patients on 20 January 2026.
Thomas said the hospital would transform healthcare for locals now and into the future, with capacity over time to treat up to 35,000 more patients every year.
She said more families were calling Melbourne’s growing southeastern suburbs home and women and children were at the heart of the hospital due to new and expanded women’s and children’s facilities.
“Our dedicated doctors, nurses and frontline staff at the new Peninsula University Hospital now have the world-class facilities to care for families in this growing area of Melbourne,” Thomas said.
Other features include a new main entrance, new spaces for a range of services including mental health and oncology services, and a rooftop helipad.
A major feature is more treatment spaces in emergency, a redesigned triage area and dedicated assessment zones to treat patients.
Thomas said the much-needed expansion will support what is already one of the state’s busiest emergency departments, with up to 75,000 patients presenting every year. It would help to deliver faster and better care to locals, she said.
The emergency department will also include a mental health and alcohol and other drugs (AOD) hub, designed as a calm, purpose-built space to treat people with urgent mental health and AOD concerns.
The hub will ease pressure on emergency department resources and improve safety, with the model already rolled out at several other major hospitals across Victoria.
A dedicated paediatric zone will also provide specialist care for children in a calm, family-friendly environment, in an area adjacent to the main emergency department. Featuring its own waiting and triage areas, it includes play areas, an outdoor courtyard, and will be staffed by paediatric emergency nurses and staff.
These specialist zones in the emergency department would continue driving down patient wait times and ambulance offload times at the hospital, Thomas said.
Since the introduction of the Victorian Government’s Standards for Safe and Timely Ambulance and Emergency Care in February 2025, Frankston has been the state’s top performer – handing over more than 95% of ambulance patients within the 40-minute target.
Premier Allan said: “Here’s what we believe: wherever you live in Victoria, you deserve the best standards of healthcare for you and your family. Frankston’s new hospital is proof.”
A Victorian Government spokesperson said the opening marked the the largest health infrastructure investment in Melbourne’s south-east.
“Peninsula University Hospital delivers significant expansions across a wide range of clinical activities, including capacities for ENT surgical care,” the spokesperson said. “We are working with health services to improve triage and referrals, train more specialists, and increase appointment availability.”
The expanded infrastructure at Peninsula University Hospital provides a strong foundation for specialist recruitment, training, and workforce development, supporting future growth in ENT surgical care.
