The New South Wales Government has announced what it says is a record amount of funding for hospitals, which the Opposition says are struggling with growing waiting times and rundown emergency departments.

Premier Mike Baird announced today that $1.4 billion would be spent on hospital re-development.

Mr Baird spoke about the funding package while he visited the new clinical services building at Blacktown Hospital, one of the hospitals earmarked for funding.

"$1.4 billion will be spent to ensure that we deliver facilities such as this right across New South Wales," he said.

The Premier said in addition, Sydney's Westmead Hospital would receive $72 million and $30 million would go towards the next stages of redevelopment at Blacktown Hospital.

Health Minister Jillian Skinner said stage two of redevelopment at Blacktown Hospital would include a new emergency department, intensive care unit, high dependency unit and operating theatres.

She said "it will transform this hospital".

"The community of Blacktown at long last are getting what they need to deal with a growing population and a growing health need," Ms Skinner said.

But Opposition health spokesman Walt Secord said it would only go a small way to replacing the massive amounts cut from the sector.

"This is a tiny, tiny baby step towards replacing the $19 billion that Tony Abbott and Mike Baird have cut over the past four to five years from the health system, it is a massive cut," he said.

"Now the State Government is making a tiny contribution towards it, that's a baby step towards it, [but] it will not tackle waiting times in emergency departments in Western Sydney."

An artist's impression of the redevelopment at Blacktown Hospital. ( Supplied: NSW Government )

Medicinal cannabis centre announced for North Sydney

The Government will also set up a centre to coordinate research into medicinal cannabis.

It has set aside $12 million over four years to establish the centre at North Sydney which will focus on how medicinal cannabis can be used to treat people with intense pain, who do not respond to conventional treatments.

The state's chief scientist and engineer, Professor Mary O'Kane, has been appointed as the centre's director.

Medical Research Minister Pru Goward said it would provide a network for experts to share their knowledge.

"New South Wales will not only lead the country, but we will play a leading role in the world, we will be calling and pulling together some of the best minds from around the world, and this is a first for Australia," she said.

She said the long-term aim was to develop innovative and safe treatments.

"It it will obviously conduct the clinical trails we announced earlier, it will also encourage collaboration between existing researchers," Ms Goward said.

Earlier this week, the University of Sydney received its largest ever research donation, with $33 million given to fund medical cannabinoid research.

The donation came from a couple who's granddaughter lives with epilepsy.