EDITORIAL: Border gets in the way again
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ALBURY hospital’s emergency department has failed to win any new funding to fix the outdated unit.
Victorian Health Minister David Davis yesterday said there was no money on the horizon for work that needed to be done.
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan this week promised the government would rebuild Wangaratta District Specialist School at a cost of up to $10 million-plus if re-elected at this month’s Victorian poll.
But Mr Davis made no such commitment yesterday when he visited the Border.
“There was a commitment of some money for minor works with the short-stay unit a while ago,” he said.
“I’m very aware of the challenge for the emergency department and the growth in demand that it faces.
“All of those are certainly on our radar.”
Wodonga hospital only recently began using its rebuilt emergency department, but Albury’s has changed little since it opened 20 years ago.
Former Albury Wodonga Health chief Stuart Spring said redeveloping the emergency department was a priority.
And NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner this year said a new emergency department was “high priority”, although Albury MP Greg Aplin warned it could take years to achieve.
Mr Davis said Albury-Wodonga luring 32 more doctors and 191 nurses over four years was “a significant marker of growth in the system”.
He held talks with the Albury Wodonga Health board and chief executive Sue O’Neill and inspected progress on the $70 million Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre.
“Just from time to time we will look at progress on sites, whether they’re in metro Melbourne, regional cities or in country towns,” he said.
“That’s part of my role.”
Mr Davis acknowledged the Border health system was on a par with other large centres across the nation.
“Albury-Wodonga is a major regional centre and the government regards it as a significant priority,” he said.
“We’ve got a number of projects under way both on the Albury campus and in Wodonga.”
Mr Davis said it was clear these projects were on time and on budget.
“The cancer centre in particular will make a very significant suite of cancer services available for people, not just in Albury-Wodonga, but well into NSW and Victoria.
“It’s important to make services accessible so people don’t have to travel large distances to receive some of those key cancer services.”
The cancer centre’s concrete superstructure is expected to be finished this year and the project within another year.