The New South Wales Government has announced $1.4 billion in new funding for hospitals, which it says is a new record.

The NSW Opposition has railed on the Baird Government over claims that hospitals across the state are struggling with growing waiting times and out-of-date emergency departments.

Premier Mike Baird announced the big funding package on a visit to the new clinical services building at Blacktown Hospital, one of the hospitals set to receive funding.

Among the projects, Sydney's Westmead Hospital will get $72 million, while $30 million will go to future stages of redevelopment at Blacktown Hospital.

Health Minister Jillian Skinner says the next stage of redevelopment at Blacktown Hospital will include a new emergency department, ICU, HDU and operating theatres.

But Opposition health spokesperson Walt Secord says the big new fund is just a fraction of the amount 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.”

The NSW Government has also set aside $12 million over four years to establish a medicinal marijuana centre at North Sydney.

It will focus on studies of how medicinal cannabis can treat people with intense pain but do not respond to conventional treatments.

New South Wales’ chief scientist and engineer, Professor Mary O'Kane, will be the centre's director.

“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,” Medical Research Minister Pru Goward said.

“It it will obviously conduct the clinical trails we announced earlier, it will also encourage collaboration between existing researchers.”

The cannabis centre announcement came just days after the University of Sydney received its largest ever research donation; $33 million given to fund medical cannabinoid research.