The new Northern Beaches Hospital at Frenchs Forest reached a major milestone today with a rooftop ceremony marking a new generation of healthcare for the region.

NSW Premier and Member for Manly Mike Baird and Health Minister Jillian Skinner joined Member for Wakehurst Brad Hazzard and Member for Davidson Jonathan O’Dea on the 40-metre summit for a topping out ceremony - a Scandinavian tradition where a tree is raised to the top of a structure once construction reaches its highest point.

“I have watched over the past 18 months as this building has risen from the site at an incredible pace. We said we would build it and we are,” Mr Baird said.

“By entering into a partnership we are building this hospital faster and at less expense to the taxpayer, delivering our promise of a world-class hospital on the Northern Beaches.”

Mrs Skinner said: “I am very excited about this hospital, which shows what can be achieved when the Government partners with an experienced health care provider.

“The community will soon have a choice - a choice for free public health care or private health care in a state-of-the-art hospital on the Northern Beaches.”

The NSW Government has partnered with private healthcare provider Healthscope to design, build, operate and maintain the new hospital. Under a 20-year contract with NSW Health, Healthscope will provide free public patient services funded by the NSW Government, as well as private patient services.

The nine-storey hospital is located on a 6.5 hectare site at the intersection of Warringah Road and Wakehurst Parkway. It will include 488 beds, 1,400 car spaces, a helipad, a 50-space emergency department, 14 operating theatres, advanced intensive care and critical care units and an inpatient mental health facility and will employ 1,300 staff.

The capital value of the project is more than $1 billion, which includes $500 million in road upgrades. The project has created 700 construction jobs – or almost one million worker hours – over the past 18 months.