The hospital was established in 1958 as a four-storey building with 3 wings, in an identical layout to the former Bankstown Hospital, which was constructed at about the same time. The hospital building was allowed to become run-down, and the lack of air conditioning and modern facilities prompted a redevelopment in the early 2000s. A new hospital building was constructed behind the original hospital in 2003–4, with the original hospital later demolished. However the northern end of the building, containing the Emergency Department remains part of the old hospital building, the new building extended onto the old one.

Sutherland Hospital can be accessed by bus services, operated by two companies. U-Go Mobility operates routes between Caringbah railway station and Westfield Miranda. Transit Systems services provide a link from Westfield Miranda to Rockdale station.

The hospital lies between two railway stations, Caringbah and Miranda, and the section is one of the longest between stations. A proposed railway station near the hospital has been discussed in the community. A 2002 joint study between Sutherland Shire Council and the State Rail Authority was rejected, and was said to cost about $35 million. In 2014, a proposal for the station costing $20 million was designed, which included two side platforms, street access and a direct ramp to the hospital, and involve an additional minute travel time on the Cronulla railway line.^[1]

• List of hospitals in Australia