The next phase of the $440 million Shoalhaven Hospital Redevelopment was signified on Monday with the removal of “Jane the Crane”.

Ryan Park - the NSW Minister for Health, and the Illawarra and the South Coast - was joined by the Member for the South Coast Liza Butler and newly ordained Labor candidate for Kiama, Katelin McInerney, to celebrate the removal of the second crane.

Now the final pour will take place and the “fit-outs” can begin inside the hospital.

Walking through parts of the hospital which one day will be an integral part of the hospital’s intensive care unit, Park had a spring in his step.

“This new hospital will deliver contemporary and expanded hospital services to support the health outcomes for the Shoalhaven community for generations to come,” Park said.

“We are yet another step closer to the completion of construction of the $440 million Shoalhaven Hospital Redevelopment.”

Butler was inspired by the work that has been done on the Shoalhaven Hospital Redevelopment.

“What a fabulous day for the second crane to be finally be removed, it only feels like yesterday we were here, the first sod in that spot and in that time, the hospital has really come out of the ground,” Butler said.

“We know that people living in regional areas, especially an expanding area such as ours, really need those critical and acute health services that this new redeveloped hospital will provide to the community.”

McInerney, who has been busy on the campaign trail since her announcement as the Labor candidate last Thursday, said the development would make a massive difference for the electorate of Kiama.

“It’s been an absolute surprise to see how far it’s come along in the short amount of time that I was here last,” McInerney said.

Park took the opportunity to throw his support behind McInerney, who was runner-up in a closely run election last time around to Gareth Ward, whose resignation due to sexual assault convictions has triggered the 13 September by-election.

“The last couple of years has been pretty chaotic for the people of Kiama, that is a reality,” he said.

“What they are going to get in Katelin is not someone screaming from the sidelines, someone who is a key player and a part of our government and someone who will focus on what the issues are that are important to the people of Kiama.

“And that is not chaos, it is better hospitals, better schools, it’s better roads, and she will be an integral part of a team that is focused on that.”

The crane, which Pleasant Heights Primary School student Jack Bartlett named Jane the Crane, worked more than 4120 hours and lifted more than 25,000 loads.

Upon completion, the Shoalhaven Hospital Redevelopment will provide emergency, critical care, acute and non-admitted services locally, reducing the need to transfer patients to Wollongong and Sydney.