Parties back new hospital
PARTIES fielding candidates in the pending State election are standing firm behind commitments to rebuild the Leongatha Hospital.
The State Labor Government pledged $20 million in the May budget.
This will be honoured by the Coalition, should it win government on November 27.
Nationals Leader Peter Ryan, who is the Member for Gippsland South which includes Leongatha Hospital, said yesterday: “Yes, I am absolutely committed to rebuilding the Leongatha campus of Gippsland Southern Health Service.”
Mr Ryan, in fact, worked long and hard to help draw the State Government’s attention to the urgent need to replace the facility.
Much of it was built in the early 1950s and parts are now crumbling.
There have been concerns for years about electrical and water supply infrastructure.
The $20 million will not be enough, but health service CEO Gary Templeton, has said in the past that the extra that is needed will be provided.
Cost estimates vary between $29 and $35 million.
Mr Ryan said a lot of work had been done with the hospital through its board of management, and the Department of Health.
“We will monitor that closely,” he said.
Ensuring the people of Leongatha get the proper facilities they need and deserve numbers high on his list of priorities.
Mr Templeton confirmed last week that the planning phase for the new building is well underway.
It’s due to be finished in the middle of next year.
“In the next six months, I expect to have working drawings and we will have, or be close to tender documents.
“By the middle or the third quarter of next year, that process will be finished.”
The next six to eight weeks after that will be taken up with tendering, with a further four weeks needed for tenders to be assessed.
After that, Mr Templeton said it will be another one to three months before people are on site and construction begun.
While not familiar with the hospital issue per se, Eastern Region Victoria Greens candidate Samantha Dunn said yesterday that health was “an enormous issue” on her party’s agenda.
“Health rates very highly. We have such high rates of hospitalisation in Australia compared with other countries.”
Better preventative measures are needed, she suggested.
She said she is committed to local communities having access to local services.
“We support rural communities.”
Ms Dunn said she was well aware of the “huge impost” faced by country people in accessing health services, many of which are not available in rural areas.
Government budgetting has allowed $1.5m for 2010-11 for planning and design, $12m for first stage construction in 2011-12 and the rest for stage two in 2012-13.
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