A REPORT into Goulburn’s health services has told everyone what they always knew, says MP Pru Goward.
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“The (Goulburn Base) hospital has had it, it’s old and worn out.
Goulburn has been very patient with it but enough’s enough,” she said.
“I’m glad they’ve come up with a bad report.”
Ms Goward was referring to the draft Clinical Services Plan, released last week.
It stated that the current building stock did not allow provision of “the best possible coordinated care locally, and one which was responsive to the changing needs of an ageing population with contemporary models of care.”
“The existing stock has deteriorated beyond the level of cost effective refurbishment,” the report stated.
But Ms Goward said shifting to a Greenfield site and coordinating health services across three campuses would be far more expensive than redeveloping the current site.
“I have always understood the redevelopment would be on that site,” she said.
“The State has poured millions of dollars into it and it wouldn’t do that if it was thinking of moving the hospital.”
The hospital’s heritage and age would make additions more difficult but in the end, Health Infrastructure NSW would recommend the best option. Ms Goward described them as the most experienced hospital builders in Australia and authorities would take their advice.
Some visiting medical officers, including obstetrician Dr Sujon Purkayastha, have called for a new hospital, saying: “We don’t want an infirmary from last century but a hospital for the new century.”
Former surgeon Jarvis Hayman added weight to the calls. In a letter to the Post he wrote that “bits and pieces” added to the hospital over the years had made it increasingly difficult to treat patients with modern standards of care.
Health Minister Jillian Skinner has not ruled out a new hospital.
She is awaiting further investigation, including a business case and options.
Ms Goward said she was constantly lobbying for upgrade money. Some $13 billion from the sale of electricity infrastructure will be allocated to the regions and she is hoping for a slice.
“We have to make a very strong case because the state has very little money for capital works and we will have to rely on the poles and wires money,” she said.
“Several billion dollars of that will be for regional development, including hospitals and I think we would come up very highly in the priority list,” she said.
Based on “constant community feedback,” the need for a modern hospital to service the ageing population was uppermost on people’s minds.
But she believed building on the current site was not only the most cost effective option, it was in the right place, being centrally located.
Ms Goward also welcomed the report’s aim to claw back health ‘business’ from the ACT.
Patient outflow to the ACT was described as ‘high,’ sitting at 11.6 per cent of total resident public hospital separations in 2011/12.
“Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) considers that there is room for improvement in the provision of acute inpatient services and in the provision of post-acute care follow- up in the community for residents who have been hospitalised in the ACT,” the report stated.
New hospital infrastructure would facilitate this, the authors wrote.
Meantime, the Goulburn Community Consultation Committee was briefed on the report last Thursday.
Chairman Jason Shepherd said anything that improved the hospital site was worth pursuing.
The next step was to find the best option and identify funding.
“After that, it should be put to public consultation,” he said.