Central Coast communities are set to receive more than $1.8 million in funding for health facility upgrades, with the money allocated to the Central Coast Local Health District as part of the NSW Government's $12 million Regional Health Minor Works Program.

The funding announcement was made on 30 September 2026 and forms part of a broader two-year program supporting minor capital works at health facilities across regional, rural and remote New South Wales. The stated purpose of the program is to improve infrastructure and help health facilities continue meeting the needs of their local communities.

On the Central Coast, the funding will support several projects across community health facilities and Gosford Hospital. One component will refurbish five Community Health Centres across the region. The work is intended to improve consumer areas, upgrade internal finishes and support telehealth capability.

Another major component involves the Acute Aged Care inpatient unit at Gosford Hospital. The existing unit is planned to be reconfigured to create an eight-bed purpose-designed Special Care Unit. The project is intended to provide a dedicated clinical environment within the hospital for the relevant patient group.

Funding will also support an expansion and reconfiguration of the Emergency Department ambulance triage and streaming zone at Gosford Hospital. The project is designed to help manage patient arrivals and ambulance presentations and improve the flow of patients through the emergency department.

The Central Coast allocation is one part of the wider $12 million Regional Health Minor Works Program, which includes 17 projects across eight local health districts. Other regional projects include medical imaging and emergency-department upgrades in the Murrumbidgee region, community health and birthing-suite works in Far West NSW, office and care-coordination facilities in the Mid North Coast, and solar installations at several Western NSW health facilities.

The NSW Government says the minor works program will be delivered over two years. It is separate from larger hospital redevelopment projects and focuses on targeted infrastructure improvements that can be delivered within existing health facilities.

The Central Coast announcement comes as the region continues to experience population growth and increasing demand for health services. The projects cover different parts of the health system, including community health, aged care and emergency services.

According to the government release, the funding also forms part of the broader 2026–27 NSW Budget health infrastructure investment, which includes $11.9 billion for 32 new or upgraded hospitals and nearly $3 billion over four years for hospitals across regional NSW. These broader figures relate to the statewide health infrastructure program rather than the Central Coast allocation alone.

For Central Coast residents, the announced projects are focused on improving existing facilities rather than creating a completely new hospital. The five community health centre refurbishments, the eight-bed Special Care Unit at Gosford Hospital and the emergency ambulance triage and streaming improvements represent the specific projects identified for the region.