Dr Rod McConnell even has a vision for the layout, including three operating theatres and an additional one for private patients. It would also encompass one private and three public wards.

“That way every private patient frees up more resources for public patients to use,” he said. 

“...It is a shame in many ways that a private hospital is not going ahead in Goulburn. 

“It would have given us a potentially better system. As it is, orthopaedic surgery and cataract surgery have a 12-month waiting time. A private contractor could have sped that up.

“It is a pity we are at the mercy of what the Health Department says we can have here, because if we had a private facility we would be able to attract more specialists.”

He said because Goulburn lacked a private hospital there was less incentive for locals to seek private health insurance. 

Meantime, Goulburn District Unions is urging people to attend a rally protesting Bourke Street Health Service’s relocation before the hospital is redeveloped. It will be held in Belmore Park at 11am on Sunday.

The Australian Medical Association has also weighed into the privatisation debate.

AMA NSW president Prof Brad Frankum has likened the need for more hospital services to meet an ageing population to a “tsunami of demand.”

“The NSW Government wants to rely on efficiency and innovation to prevent that State’s hospitals from being overrun with the tsunami of demand we are facing...but they are no substitute for larger facilities and more active beds,” Prof Frankum said. 

“It’s the same story across NSW – more people, who are older and sicker, are presenting to hospital emergency departments every quarter.” 

His comments came in context of the new Maitland Hospital’s construction. But in relation to the rejected proposal to privatise Goulburn Hospital, an AMA spokesman said hospitals had to serve their communities.

“A hospital that is too small cannot do this and neither can one that people cannot access for reasons of cost or other factors,” he said.