NSW Health Minister Ryan Park answers questions on Albury hospital redevelopment

The Border Mail

Transcript

00:00 In my last few minutes I'd like to come back to the Albury Hospital

00:02 redevelopment please and we will keep doing this every estimate until

00:05 Albury-Wodonga has a single site hospital that actually meets the needs

00:08 of our region. I've been trying to get my head around

00:11 why the points of care projection, so the predicted need for the hospital

00:15 was revised down between the 2021 master plan

00:18 which we released through an order in the Upper House and the 2022

00:22 clinical services plan, especially given that the population growth in Albury-

00:25 Wodonga is much higher than previously anticipated because of COVID.

00:29 I wonder if the answer is in Ms Wach's answer this morning that the scope

00:33 will be prioritised in order to meet the funding that's available.

00:37 Is that why the points of care predictions were actually revised down?

00:43 That document would have proceeded, took place before I was in government

00:49 so I don't want to make judgments over the last

00:52 minister and ministers in relation to that. That was the unwise.

00:55 That's right. You've committed to maintaining their

00:58 their redevelopment plan for the hospital. We have

01:02 because Chair, I understand that yourself and other members of the

01:08 community think there is a different way of doing

01:11 the hospital in a way that. Sorry I'm just going to correct you Mr,

01:14 it's not that I think, it's that the extensive 2021 master planning process

01:18 clearly recommended a greenfield build. So it's not just my opinion.

01:22 But all of our hospitals need to make sure that they are

01:28 effective, they deliver the health services the community needs but

01:31 it is done in a budgetary environment and that is,

01:35 I'm not going to pretend that it's not. I'm in a party that seeks to form

01:39 government as is the opposition and respectfully Chair, that won't be a

01:45 responsibility that you have to face but it is one

01:48 that I have to face and I take it seriously.

01:51 It's not being disrespectful. It is that I do

01:54 have a budget. I have to make sure that I'm delivering the best health services

01:58 for the best value for money to make sure it gets to the most people.

02:02 I believe that the plan that we have in place,

02:05 although not everyone is supportive of it, will certainly

02:09 enhance health services. I think from memory

02:13 when I went through the last deliberations of this committee in

02:17 preparation for this, I spent some time on it.

02:19 You asked me about bed numbers I think from that time.

02:22 I think we're looking at around about a 50% increase

02:26 in bed numbers from what is currently from 2019. So that is

02:33 a substantial increase in services that I think you as someone who's very

02:39 interested in it would at least acknowledge

02:41 is going to happen. Sorry I've only got a minute left. So Albury Hospital currently

02:45 operates at a deficit of about 60 beds every day.

02:48 So when you say a 50% increase, does that even cover the deficit we've got now

02:51 let alone the projected need for this community into the future? You're

02:54 spending, Victoria and New South Wales together

02:57 spending $558 million. Does it actually get us a better health

03:01 service or is it just covering the deficit?

03:03 No I don't think it's covering the deficit.

03:06 What I'm advised from the team in New South Wales Health and HI

03:10 working with Victorian Government is that based on current planning, once

03:14 fully operationalised, the new hospital is complete around

03:17 we'll have around 380 beds and this is around about a 50% increase

03:23 from the 2019 bed base of 245. So I know Chair that it is not

03:30 the way you would necessarily want the hospital to be redeveloped.

03:34 But I'm doing it in a way that is I think providing growth in

03:38 health services to the community at the same time it's fiscally responsible.

03:42 Both premiers in 2022 announced a single site hospital for Albury Donga.

03:46 It's clear that the current planned redevelopment is actually not going to

03:49 achieve that. What further funding is going to be

03:52 committed to further stages to actually achieve that?

03:55 Well we will work through the half a billion dollars that our respective

03:59 governments in Victoria and New South Wales have put on the

04:03 table. Chair, if my community

04:07 was informed they were getting half a billion dollars in a hospital that they

04:11 would be quite pleased. I understand that that is

04:14 not your view but what I'm saying to you is I will make sure that

04:20 like every hospital this hospital as we grow and as our population grow and

04:24 demands grow I will go into bat. I hope the person

04:27 who follows me in this chair goes into bat

04:30 for additional funding. But at the moment we've got to get work through what we've

04:33 got. What we've got between the two groups

04:36 between the two governments is over half a billion dollars

04:38 with the Commonwealth chipping in a relatively small amount

04:42 to contribute towards that as well. I'm out of time.

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