Built in the 1970s and 80s, the hospital in the beautiful town of Bright is no longer fit for purpose.  There are multiple, serious problems compromising its ability to maximise its provision of services and care for patients.

These include:

• outdated buildings, plant and equipment;
• no high-care aged care facilities;
• no separation of waiting and care areas;
• no consultation space for visiting specialists;
• shared patient bathrooms; and
• poor security.

Master and feasibility planning for the hospital’s redevelopment was completed in 2012 and 2015 respectively – but this work ultimately did not proceed.
Those redevelopment plans now urgently need to be revisited, and I therefore ask the Minister to clarify whether the Government will be responding favourably to the recent requests received from Alpine Health to help fund this work?

SUPPLEMENTARY:

As everyone here would know, the Legislative Council is scheduled to hold a sitting in Bright on 29 April this year.

I therefore ask whether the Health Minister would be available, and/or whether he would be happy to delegate at least one Government MLC on his behalf, to join me that week in meeting with representatives from Alpine Health at the hospital in Bright?

I seek that commitment as I believe this would represent a great opportunity to discuss the hospital’s requirements first-hand – and to practically demonstrate the need for State Government assistance to urgently improve health services and care for the thousands of people that the hospital serves across the Bright, Harrietville, Porepunkah and Wandiligong districts and beyond.