HOSPITAL REBUILD BACK TO DRAWING BOARD

Instead of moving to construction the revamp of Grafton Base Hospital is heading back to the drawing board.

By TIM HOWARD

Instead of moving to construction the revamp of Grafton Base Hospital is heading back to the drawing board.

NSW Regional Health Minister Bronnie Taylor was in Grafton last week to unveil a master plan for the $264 million project.

Mrs Taylor described the news as “an exciting opportunity to … find out more about the early planning” and “a first-look at the design of their new local hospital”.

It was not the news the committee agitating for hospital reconstruction, the Grafton Base Hospital Community begin “in the next term of government”.

“From memory we were talking about would reduce its scale.

Barilaro said there had been $20 million allocated for planning so construction could begin in this term of government,” he said.

Mr Harvey said local Member Chris Gulaptis had then mentioned a figure of $24 million in June last year.

But when the NSW Government released the 2022-23 budget figures, it included a figure of $1 million for Grafton Base Hospital.

He said the government had not been able to confirm which of these figures was correct, which led him to suspect funding for the project had not been allocated.

Mrs Taylor, who become the Minister for Regional Health in 2021, was pressed on the whereabouts of the $20 million Mr Barilaro had promised.

“We know delays always cost more, but the amount has not been updated from the $263.8 million from four years ago,” he said.

“The longer the delay, the less hospital we will get.”

Mr Harvey said the delay meant meant the community was not getting the health care it needed.

“Every day the hospital is turning away people who need care and they have to go to Ballina, Lismore or Coffs Harbour for care they should receive here,” he said.

“This happens daily and has been for some time, and it’s something the community should not have to accept.”

Mrs Taylor said the government had set aside the money for with what had been originally planned confidence that a Nationals and Liberals Government will deliver this important project.”

Mr Gulaptis said it was a critical step in moving forward with the rebuild of Grafton Base Hospital.

“No one hospital redevelopment is the same and it’s so important that it is tailored to the community’s unique needs,” Mr Gulaptis said.

“Only after we have conducted this extensive planning and design process can we start building the hospital because we want to have the best possible no-one would have been happy,” she said.

She could not name a date for construction to begin

“The future redevelopment is the next stage of improvement works planned for the Grafton Base Hospital, following an upgrade to emergency and surgical services completed in 2012

Committee, wanted to hear.

Its chair, Grafton businessman Des Harvey, described the unveiling of the master plan as a “minuscule step forward”.

He recalled the government, prior to the 2019 election, promising the hospital reconstruction would planning for the hospital in 2015,” he said.

“It got to 2019 and before the election we were told construction would begin during the next term of government.”

Mr Harvey said from there it became confusing.

“In 2020 the (then) deputy premier John

She said she was not aware of where it was and noted it occurred before her appointment as Regional Health Minister, but was sure it remained in the $263.8 million the government had allocated for the hospital rebuild.

Mr Gulaptis said the funding for the hospital was there and could be used as needs arose to fund the next steps of development.

Another committee member, Phil Belletty, was concerned delays in beginning the build the hospital and extra planning was necessary which would result in a better hospital for the Grafton community.

“If we’d gone ahead and the new Grafton Ambulatory Care Centre completed in 2020,” Mrs Taylor said.

“The community should have every state-of-the-art hospital to support the local community’s health needs now and into the future.

As part of the redevelopment, opportunities to improve onsite car parking and greenspace will also be considered.

This is all part of the plan’s three zones:

• The new building zone for a multi-storey clinical services building and main public entry;

• the retention zone, which ensures existing buildings are retained; and

• a future development zone, that allows for greenspace, car parking and potential future expansion.

The Grafton Base Hospital Redevelopment is being delivered in partnership with Health Infrastructure and Northern NSW Local Health District.