Persisting: State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell continues to advocate for the GV Health redevelopment.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
In the closing sessions of this year’s parliamentary calendar, State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell persisted in her endeavour to secure commitments from the Victorian Government for funding the remaining phases of the Goulburn Valley Health redevelopment project.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
During the adjournment debate in parliament, Ms Lovell reiterated her concerns about the government’s failure to allocate funds to complete the Goulburn Valley Health redevelopment and the urgent need to finance a clinical school at the Graham St campus.
While the government had acknowledged that the completed works constituted only stage one of the redevelopment, providing $2 million in the 2019 state budget for planning stage two, recent communications have raised concerns.
A government media release on March 16, promoting Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas’ tour of the stage one works, described them as the “final stage,” sparking apprehensions about the government’s commitment to the entire redevelopment.
Hoping for an upgrade: GV Health has had work recently, but a proposed stage two is still yet to be completed.
Photo by
Rodney Braithwaite
Critical components of the redevelopment still lacking funding include the construction of the integrated cancer centre, increased inpatient capacity, additional spaces for ambulatory care services, more parking, the helipad and clinical support and diagnostic services.
Ms Lovell also emphasised the pressing need for funding a clinical health school on the Graham St site to address staffing shortages faced by GV Health.
With projections indicating a requirement for 360 new nurses by 2025, an integrated training school could serve as a valuable resource to fill these positions.
“The Minister for Health is fully aware that GV Health needs further investment to complete the redevelopment and the government must commit the necessary funding to fully complete the hospital to ensure it can continue to meet the health needs of our region,” Ms Lovell said.
“Establishing a clinical school on the Goulburn Valley Health site would deliver high-quality training locally and enable the hospital to access an expanded talent pool to compensate for the existing staff shortages.”
