She is also taking the community’s concerns about Bourke Street’s planned closure to Health Minister Jillian Skinner.

Ms Goward said she only found out about about the decision when the Southern NSW Health District announced it recently.

“I will be speaking to the Minister about this because I don’t think the community feels a case has been made and the way it was done has really disappointed them,” she said.

Ms Goward recognised that the community had invested time and money into the facility and had great fondness for it.

She was pleased Health District CEO Janet Compton had guaranteed there would be no job losses due to the relocation. 

“(But) my concern is whether the Hospital can provide oncology and palliative care in the same way,” Ms Goward said.

“...The hospital is old and some areas are not fit for purpose and I don’t think any of us are satisfied it can care for people in a palliative state.”

Regarding the hydrotherapy pool, the MP said it was “troubling to think that something the community paid for could be sold.”

However, Ms Goward was aware owners, the Sisters of St John of God, wanted to maintain some type of community facility in the building.

A Health District spokesman said the pool would not close by February, as speculated, but would continue while it consulted with the community.

Meantime, Ms Goward said everyone should wait and see what expressions of interest for Goulburn Base Hospital’s “partnership funding” revealed. Others have branded it privatisation.

“It is very early in the process and we still don’t know if anyone is interested,” she said.

“The $120 million for the redevelopment stands but we don’t know if any EoIs will meet the criteria (in terms of service provision).”

“...Remember this is a public hospital and any party will have to provide the full suite of of procedures and services. If they can’t, then they won’t be considered.”

Ms Goward described the public-private-partnership as a 50/50 proposition at this stage.

But she argued there was no doubt Goulburn’s ageing population would create greater pressure and services such as dialysis and urology could expand as a result. A private party could facilitate this but it didn’t necessarily have to run the entire facility.

In addition, she said one-third of Goulburn residents had private health insurance but couldn’t currently use it at the local hospital.

Asked about the level of public opposition to the move, Ms Goward acknowledged discussions could have started earlier with the community.

“But because it was an expression of interest I don’t think Health Infrastructure or the Board thought there was cause for alarm,” she said.

“They were looking at what the market could offer.” 

However Ms Goward said the Community Consultative Committee (CCC), of which Goulburn and District Unions member Jason Shepherd was chair, was aware of the public-private-partnership proposal many months ago. She was aware of this from discussions she’d had with former Mayor Geoff Kettle and fellow CCC member, Cr Carol James.

But as Assistant Health Minister she told The Post she’d had minimal involvement in the decision which had been driven by Health Infrastructure and the Southern NSW Health District Board.

“It’s a bit early to attack me,” Ms Goward said.

“The unions and Ursula Stephens have been most active. They’re concerned about jobs but I’m told there will be a two-year guarantee for any transferring staff and that’s not bad.

”It’s very early days and I think the community needs to wait and see what the EoIs reveal.”