Both states pledged $225 million for the redevelopment,on top of $108 million,already allocated by the Commonwealth government,with construction to begin next year. The rebuild is planned to be completed by 2027.
Dr Phillip Steele,secretary of the Border Medical Association,said while it was positive to see both sides of politics working together,the funds would only go far enough to complete three of five stages of the healthcare hub that had been planned. He said millions more dollars would be needed need to finish the redevelopment,and he feared its completion date would blow out.
“The entire rebuild of this health service has five stages. It’s going to take until 2034 to complete,and it will require further funding along the way to achieve that,” Steele said. “This will disrupt service provision and disrupt everyone’s life for many,many years.”
Local doctors have raised serious concerns that the plan for a brand new,single-site hospital to serve the fast-growing community has been dumped by the states’ health departments without explanation,despite years of work going into it and mounting expert advice,which indicated it was the best option.
The greenfield proposal included plans for a co-located private hospital and teaching hospital to support recruitment and retention of staff,recognising that rural areas are hit the hardest by widespread healthcare worker shortages.
“All this work and advice has been ignored by the departments,” Steele said.