A complete picture of the number of health workers required to staff the new facility is expected to be determined through the budget process, with employees to be recruited both domestically and internationally.

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said work was already underway to determine the workforce needed when doors opened in mid-2024.

Ms Stephen-Smith said the critical services building will provide a brand new emergency department, more operating rooms, more treatment spaces and more intensive care beds for Canberra.

The intensive care unit will double from 30 beds to 60 and emergency department treatment spaces will also increase from 72 to 147.

Ms Stephen-Smith said some existing staff would move over into the new building and the building's new technology and modern facilities would help attract a clinical workforce to Canberra from around the world.

"It's going to be not only a great place for our existing staff to work, but an attraction as we seek to recruit and retain staff into the future," she said.

"Both because it's a fantastic place for wellbeing but also because it's providing state-of-the-art facilities for healthcare providers to really be able to do their work to the best of their ability."

Construction of the delayed $600 million expansion of the Canberra Hospital has been underway for more than a year.

In February, an additional $16.9 million investment was announced to futureproof against pandemics, add more sterilisation services and include more enhanced imaging facilities.

A rooftop ceremony on Monday marked the completion of the building's highest point, topping out at more than 40 metres.

A native tree, an acacia melanoxylon, was placed at the site to mark the occasion. The tradition reportedly starting in Scandinavia and having since been adopted during infrastructure projects around the world.

From the level-nine helipad, Ms Stephen-Smith said it was clear what a monumental structure the critical services building was in the life of the city and the health care of residents.

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Ms Stephen-Smith said it was the largest health care infrastructure project ever undertaken in the ACT.

"We have all watched this building rise at an incredible pace over the last 12 months and today's topping-out ceremony marks a significant milestone as we work to deliver a bigger and better hospital for Canberra," she said.

Staff shortages have plagued Canberra Health Services for some time, the issue thought to be exacerbated by the pandemic when more than 600 nursing staff left in just 12 months.

Pressure on the health care system has seen Canberra clocking up the nation's longest emergency department wait times and concerns raised about the quality of paediatric care.

The Canberra Hospital expansion project will continue with internal fit-outs, landscaping, art installations and the widening of Hospital Road to provide better access for pedestrians and vehicles in the coming months.

Ms Stephen-Smith said the government will continue to invest in health care infrastructure across the ACT, improving existing facilities and building new spaces so Canberrans can access the most appropriate health care, at the right time and closer to their homes.

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