Member for Myall Lakes, Stephen Bromhead, and Manning Base Hospital general manager, Jodi Nieass, made the announcement at the facility on Thursday, June 11, describing the services the new department would be able to provide as a big win for the community.

The medical imaging department, which sits above the new renal dialysis and oncology units, has been built as a part of the NSW Government's $40 million Stage One Manning Hospital Redevelopment.

It will open with general and mobile x-ray, ultrasound, fluroscopy and a bone density scanner.

In a first for the hospital, MRI scans will also be able to be completed on-site, but the state-of-the-art MRI and CT machines are not expected to be up and running until late August.

Ms Nieass said the ability to offer such a service would significantly improve the quality of care the hospital could provide.

"The big news for us is the excitement around having an MRI on-site," she said.

"It's been something that the community has been asking for for many, many years. Currently if a patient is in the hospital and requires an MRI as part of their treatment, they have to go in an ambulance to the Mayo Hospital, or most often they get sent up to Port Macquarie."

The refurbishment of the main hospital entry is also expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

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Mr Bromhead said the project, which began in August 2019, had been delivered on time and would provide first-class, accessible and integrated medical services close to home.

"We're getting more and more services, better facilities, better equipment. This is a hospital that our community can be proud of and I know the staff are proud working here," he said.

The completed medical imaging department will include:

Mr Bromhead said the $100 million dollar Stage Two Manning Hospital Redevelopment would begin once a clinical services plan for the Lower Mid North Coast had been completed.

"The clinical services plan will identify what needs to go in it, but we do know that it should include an upgrade to the operating theatres, a new intensive care unit, more expanded in-patient beds and areas for in-patients, so it's a huge expansion," he said.

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Originally scheduled to be finished by April this year, Mr Bromhead said the clinical services plan had been delayed because of COVID-19, but he expected it to be completed soon.

He believed the delay would not impact on his ability to deliver on the election commitments he made for his current term of government.

"I'm confident that we will start the redevelopment stage two of this hospital, I'm confident that we will start on the development of a public hospital for Forster," Mr Bromhead said.

"These are election commitments that will be honoured."

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