Waiting lists show need for Box Hill Hospital redevelopment

Hansard: 28 February 2008 ASSEMBLY

Mr CLARK (Box Hill) — Yesterday’s publication of figures showing that 14 935 people were waiting for operations and other treatment at Box Hill Hospital at the end of September — the highest number of patients waiting at any hospital in Melbourne — highlights both the failures of the Bracks and Brumby governments and the urgent need for the government to commit to the hospital’s long-awaited redevelopment.
Box Hill Hospital opened in 1956. The last major upgrade of the hospital was in 1998. Redevelopment plans drawn up in 2002 were scrapped by the government after the 2002 election. In the 2006 budget the government funded preliminary redevelopment works. In its eastern suburbs election policy, Labor promised that over the next four years it would continue the redevelopment until a new facility was completed.

However, there was no funding for the project in last year’s budget, and time is running out. The existing hospital is estimated to have a remaining lifetime of only 10 years before it is forced to close. If the project is not funded in this year’s budget, major redesign work will be necessary, which will effectively bring the current project to a halt, and already stretched staff morale and retention will slump.

This project is vital for hundreds of thousands of eastern suburbs residents, including many ageing residents with increasing needs, as well as young families, currently suffering some of the longest waiting times in Melbourne. The full project is currently costed at $1.045 million, or $850 million for stage 1. However, just to bring existing facilities up to standard so that the hospital can stay open is estimated to cost over $750 million.

Labor denied in the state election campaign that it could not afford to pay for its capital works promises. If it is going to honour this election promise, it must fund the next stage of the Box Hill Hospital redevelopment in this year’s budget.