Following the handing down of the 2023-24 State Budget earlier this month, it was revealed the $263.8 million Grafton Base Hospital (GBH) redevelopment had avoided the Labor budget axe, with Member for Clarence Richie Williamson releasing a statement detailing the Budget Papers confirmation of a further $8.324 million allocated for continued planning including the master plan, detailed design, approvals, the business case, and community consultation, which readies the site for major construction, of the highly anticipated and much longed for project.
The Clarence Valley Independent recently contacted the Grafton Base Hospital Community Committee (GBHCC) for comment and received the following reply.
This month’s State budget has brought excitingly good news to the Clarence Valley community in terms of funding for further planning of the GBH redevelopment.
It has long been accepted that regional and rural health care patients have suffered in comparison to their city cousins.
In fact, potentially avoidable deaths and hospitalisations are more than double in comparison, and this inequality has been identified as a critical community issue.
Since 2015 when estimates of $263.8 million for the GBH redevelopment were prepared, the GBHCC has been working behind the scenes, lobbying politicians to fund the works.
With disappointment after disappointment, a glimmer of hope appeared when our then state member Chris Gulaptis announced on March 5, 2019, outside GBH that “construction would commence by March 2023”.
From then the committee prosecuted the case with politicians and multiple assurances were received that “funds were in the budget”, but when the committee scrutinised the Budget Papers, it was clear no funds existed.
The committee never gave up on the hospital redevelopment pursuit.
After almost 10 years, on September 19 the long-awaited good news appeared with the first-time line item of $263.8 million by Treasurer Daniel Mookhey.
The committee is aware of the great financial pressure governments are experiencing, but clearly our hospital redevelopment case was compelling.
The committee is aware the $263.8million is based on 2015 costs which have escalated by circa 40 percent in today’s dollars.
Recently on ABC Radio, Dr. Allan Tyson so accurately described the situation that today $263.8 million “doesn’t build the same amount of house, so no longer a four-bedroom house, maybe only two bedrooms.”
This has been recognised by government and the budget figure of $263.8 million only refers to Stage 1 of multiple stages of the redevelopment.
Once Stage 1 is completed, benefits of additional services will flow to Maclean Hospital so the whole of the Clarence Valley will benefit.
However, there are several key initiatives that were addressed by the clinicians that are critical to a developing region allowing independence from neighbouring specialists, and the questions need to be asked are they included?
- Mental Health. Are appropriate facilities for psychologists to assess and gazette mental health patients included so they can proceed to treatment and not remain in the Emergency Department (ED?
- Increased capacity for children’s health and Midwifery?
- Radiation therapy for cancer treatment. Federal funding was allocated some time ago, but nothing eventuated, primarily because of inadequate infrastructure at the time at GBH?
- Will a secure wing for Clarence Correctional Centre (CCC) emergency patients be included rather than sending many to Coffs Harbour or Prince Alfred Hospital? Currently, either one or two security guards are employed per inmate patient. This is up to six security guards every day per inmate at great GBH/government expense.
Nonetheless, the $8.324 million listed for expenditure in fiscal year 2023/24 for further planning is exciting news for the committee and members of the Clarence Valley community. The Budget Papers list a construction completion date of 2030.
There is still much to be done before the first sod is turned, but at least the community can be assured the project is now moving ahead and congratulations to Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, Health Minister Ryan Park, Premier Chris Minns, and the State Government for their support.