| MP joins push for hospital redevelopment |
| By Anthony Radford
Push for a redevelopment of the Bendigo hospital
UPPER House Liberal MP Wendy Lovell has thrown her support behind the push for a redevelopment of the Bendigo hospital.
Speaking in parliament this week, Ms Lovell, the Member for Northern Victoria Region, sought a commitment from Health Minister Daniel Andrews to provide funding for the complete redevelopment.
Ms Lovell asked Mr Andrews’ Upper House representative Theo Theophanous to pass on her concerns, but he refused to, citing it as a political statement rather than a request.
“Not satisfied with Mr Theophanous’ response, I spoke personally with Minister Andrews today in his parliament office where I outlined the urgent need for a new Bendigo hospital,” Ms Lovell said.
“I have written formally to the minister seeking a commitment from him regarding funding for the redevelopment of the hospital in the upcoming budget and will continue to lobby the Brumby government for this funding.
“If necessary, I will knock down the door of the Minister’s office to ensure the concerns of the Bendigo community are heard.”
In her speech, Ms Lovell outlined the need for a complete redevelopment of the Bendigo hospital and the desperate need for upgrades to the emergency department, which will enable the hospital to provide quality health care and appropriate response times until the new hospital is built.
“I call on the Minister to ensure that funding for both the upgrade to the emergency department and the redevelopment of the Bendigo hospital is included in the 2008-09 state budget,” she said.
“The Bendigo community is quickly losing patience with the Brumby Government. It is time Bendigo’s local members, Jacinta Allan, Bob Cameron and former federal Member for Bendigo John Brumby, supported my call for funding to help provide Bendigo with the hospital it deserves.”
A spokesman for Mr Andrews repeated Mr Andrews’ recent comments on the issue.
“The Brumby Government is aware of the needs of the growing population of the area and that’s why Bendigo Hospital has had its bottom-line budget funding increased by 94.5 per cent since 1999,” he said.
“The Brumby Government is committed to further expanding and improving health services in Bendigo, with last year’s state budget providing $2 million to progress the planning of the redevelopment of the hospital.
“This planning is to detail options for new initiatives including expanding mental health capacity, new wards, and new allied health and outpatient facilities.”
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