A new public hospital could be build in Hobart’s north within the next three years under a Labor government.
In one of their final announcements ahead of the state election on Saturday, Labor Leader Rebecca White made the promise to build the dedicated public surgery and specialist centre at New Town.
$160 million has been allocated to purchase the land in New Town, initially proposed for the Tasman Private Hospital, with a 2027 completion date already floated.
The private project was cancelled last year due to increasing costs, with one City of Hobart Alderman at the time blaming the move to shove the project on ‘anti-development forces’ within the Hobart City Council.
White said more surgeries will be delivered under Labor with the hospital project, which will help alleviate the state’s health crisis.
“The hospital will allow thousands of public patients to receive elective surgery sooner in the public system,” White said.
“Once fully operational there will be over 13,000 procedures completed each year at the hospital.”
Plans for the hospital, which are yet to be released, include up to eight operating theatres and up to 24 overnight beds, with sub-acute care, dedicated specialist care and day surgery.
“Labor is serious about repairing Tasmania’s public health system after 10 years of the Liberals,” White said.
“We know that our current health infrastructure is stretched to the absolute limit, and we need more capacity.”
“The Liberal government had 10 years to fix our public hospital system but instead, they’ve let waitlists and ambulance response times spiral out of control.”
But Deputy Liberal leader Michael Ferguson said the “desperate last gasp” by Labor would do the opposite of improving health services and would “gut the Royal Hobart Hospital”.
“Labor has shown how desperate it’s become with a half-baked thought-bubble … If it’s such a good idea why didn’t Ms White announce it two weeks ago?” he said.
“What Labor is proposing simply doesn’t stack up. Hospitals have to be staffed. Labor’s proposal would require at least 170 staff and cost at least an additional $60 million a year to run.”
“The only way to staff such a facility would be to move surgeons and nurses from existing facilities. Elective surgeries at the Royal would be severely impacted. Emergency surgeries needed at the Royal would be compromised.”
“Labor’s so-called hospital doesn’t even have an Emergency Department … How can you have a public hospital without emergency care?”
