The Bartlett – Giddings Labor Government has finally decided to do what most Tasmanians have been saying for ages: we can’t afford Labor’s uncosted adventure into a billion-dollar-plus new hospital on the Hobart waterfront.
I am also publishing on this site an email sent to DHHS staff…
Click here for ABC report of hospital backdown.
- David Bartlett’s back down on his stupid waterfront hospital plan affects all public hospital users in Tasmania
- A baby born today will be at least 21 years old before we see the Royal Hobart Hospital redeveloped
- The “patch up” proposal is the worst of all options
And Labor’s spin has begun.
1. A defensive media campaign has started.
2. The blame game is off to a cracking start! Apparently it’s uncle Kevin’s fault for not giving Tasmania even $1 of the $22,000,000,000 federal infrastructure fund.
3. The Premier now admits they didn’t actually ask for federal money for the hospital!
4. Thousands of health department public servants received an email directly from the minister an hour ago; and here it is for your information:
We are writing to you to advise you of the State Government’s decision on the future of the new Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH).
As many of you would be aware, the State Government commissioned an extensive Business Case on the options for a new RHH, namely to build on the Railyards or redevelop the current site. The report concluded that building a new Royal on a greenfields site was preferable to the immediate entire redevelopment of the Royal on its current site, both of which would cost between $1.5 and $2.1 billion.
The rapid impact of the global financial crisis in recent months has placed the State Budget in a position where it is simply not possible to fund either option for the building of a new Royal at this time.
The State Government has therefore taken the difficult decision to rule out the building of a new hospital on a greenfields site, and instead to commit to a new approach which will see the full redevelopment of the Royal on its current site over a longer period of time as State finances allow.
The new approach of redeveloping the Royal over a longer period of time will possibly be supplemented by a new building on a nearby site. For safety, operational efficiency and patient convenience, the proposed new facility would need to be located within a short walking distance of the RHH.
The Government is aware that there are immediate issues at the Royal that need to be addressed so that we can extend the life of the current hospital in a safe and sustainable way.
The State Government is committing $100 million over the next five years to allow the current site to be maintained to a safe standard and provide improved operational efficiency and functionality and expand the Intensive Care Unit and High Dependency Unit.
The three years of service planning undertaken through the Business Case, which looked at options for both the railyards and the current site, will be invaluable no matter where the new hospital is built and will be used as the basis for future planning.
Please check the New Royal Project website for further information and current reports at www.newroyal.tas.gov.au
Lara Giddings MP
Deputy Premier
Minister for Health
In the words of Tasmania’s next premier, Will Hodgman:
The truth of the matter is that everyone else knew two years ago that a $1.2 billion waterfront hospital was a bad idea.
It was never affordable, it was a rotten location and it should have been dumped a long time ago.
