The NSW government has defended the Albury hospital upgrade as "one of the largest investments in a regional hospital in the history of NSW" after a Border MP noted other projects had received triple the $225 million allocated for the Borella Road site.
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Greens Upper House member Amanda Cohn spoke on Albury Wodonga Health in the Legislative Chamber on Wednesday March 20 and called on Health Minister Ryan Park to rethink his approach to the hospital redevelopment.
"Regional communities in Tweed and in Shellharbour have received investments of over $700 million each for greenfield hospitals that are being delivered on time and to budget," Dr Cohn, a supporter of a new Border hospital, said.
"The NSW contribution to Albury is $225 million for a catchment the size of Wollongong.
"The minister does not need to keep the dud commitment of the previous government.
"I hope that he has the courage and humility to recognise that this plan is not working while there is still time to intervene."
Dr Cohn also queried Mr Park's approach to master plans for the Albury campus.
"When I pointed out that the new master plan involves the demolition of the $36 million emergency department that has only just opened, the Minister for Health distanced himself from the new master plan, saying it is 'not government policy'," she said.
"So what is? What will actually be built at Albury hospital?
"The planned redevelopment is not following the 2021 or the 2023 master plans.
"It is time to go back to the drawing board for a greenfield build that would deliver the single-site hospital that our growing regional community deserves faster and, in the long term, cheaper."
The Border Mail contacted Mr Park's office for a response to Dr Cohn highlighting the disparity between funding for Albury hospital works and the new medical hubs in Shellharbour and the Tweed.
In response a government spokeswoman said: "This is one of the largest investments in a regional hospital in the history of NSW."
The new Shellharbour hospital, south of Wollongong, has a construction budget of more than $700 million with a $570 million contribution from the NSW government and federal government funding of $128 million.
The Tweed Valley hospital, which is slated to open on May 14, 2024, has received $723.3 million which is bankrolling building works which began in early 2021.
In reference to the Albury upgrade, the government spokeswoman added "the new emergency department will complement the redevelopment" and indicated there would be no pause on works.
"NSW Health is getting on with the planning and design process to deliver it," she said.
"The final project and clinical scope will be determined through the planning and design process as it progresses."
