Facts will establish need for new hospital
West Gippsland Healthcare Group chief executive officer Dan Weeks is confident a feasibility study and business case being undertaken by the state government will lead to one answer – “we need a new hospital.”
“The facts will speak for themselves,” Mr Weeks told last week’s Baw Baw Shire Ratepayers and Citizens Association.
Mr Weeks addressed the meeting to outline the “journey to a new hospital.”
The opposition has already committed to funding a new hospital on the greenfield site, announcing in February that it would support the project, estimated to cost about $300 million.
Mr Weeks said the best scenario now was for the state government to fund a new hospital in next May’s budget.
“We don’t want it to be an election football. We are hopeful it will be in the budget so it doesn’t matter who is in government,” he said.
Mr Weeks said the business case for a new hospital was almost completed.
Concept plans for a new hospital at Drouin East provide for a five level hospital of 30 beds each, with room for expansion.
Cooinda aged care facility also would be relocated to the new site, with access from Lardners Trk, while the hospital entrance would be from Princes Way.
Mr Weeks said the “journey to a new hospital” began in 2007 when former chief executive Ormond Pearson and the board took the courageous decision to buy land on the north east corner of Lardners Trk and Princes Way at Drouin East.
“It was courageous because they just went ahead and did it,” he said
When he began in 2011, Mr Weeks said the number one goal of the board was securing a new hospital.
He said the driving factor for a new hospital was the ageing infrastructure of the current hospital.
“But we were getting the sense of growth and more growth. People said to the government, `the people are coming here, what are you going to do.’
“We said the hospital is at capacity so what are you planning to do?
At the 2014 state election, the ALP committed to funding a services plan.
Mr Weeks said the government had followed through on its commitment and undertaken the services plan, followed by the feasibility and master plan.
The results of the study, according to Mr Weeks were no surprise.
“We need a hospital like what we have now but much bigger and work in areas that we currently aren’t doing.
He said there was scope for WGH to offer rehabilitation services, ophthalmology surgery and more work in gastroscopy, endoscopy and colonoscopies.
“Our role needs to be as a sub-regional hospital,” he said.
Mr Weeks said the hospital’s ward patients could not increase much more because it was already at capacity and emergency department presentations were up nine per cent already this financial year.
“Basically the inn is full and people can’t get in.
“The service plan looked at how many beds we need for this many people and the prediction is we virtually need double the amount of beds.
Mr Weeks said the answer of the master plan process was either a new hospital could be built on a greenfield site or on the existing site.
As a result of the masterplan and feasibility study, the government asked for more information. Mr Weeks said a business case was close to being finished.
“The board’s preference is a new hospital on a greenfield site but it is still at least a five year project. So we would still have five years of managing the growth we have now.
Mr Weeks said there was overwhelming community support for a new hospital on a greenfield site.
“Yes there is sentiment and history on the current site but there was overwhelming recognition the future was at the new site,” he said.
Mr Weeks said if a new hospital was built on the greenfield site, the healthcare group would be keen to maintain the linen service and units on the current site and the remainder of the land would return to the government.