Health minister to visit Albury to unveil new emergency department

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park is unable to attend the unveiling of the $36 million building on Thursday, April 4, due to a prior commitment, but Victoria will have representation from Mary-Anne Thomas.

Mr Park's office told The Border Mail no other NSW government health representative would take his place.

The emergency department was initially slated for a February 14 opening, but has been delayed by almost two months.

Advocacy group Better Border Health, which has criticised the planned redevelopment of Albury hospital and called for a new hospital on a greenfield site, doesn't think the new emergency department will service the community's long-term needs.

"The official opening of the new ED is a grim warning sign of things to come if the NSW and Victorian governments continue to stubbornly push forward on the poor decision to revamp Albury hospital," spokesperson Michelle Cowan said.

"Today, Albury Wodonga Health is short at least 39 beds - this can sometimes be up to 70 beds short. Adding a larger ED on an already severely stressed hospital while ignoring the ongoing bed shortage crisis is a very poor decision - just another band aid.

"By their admission, Albury Wodonga Health has already pointed out that the new $36 million ED only meets the current demand.

"It seems from the recent rebuttals from the NSW minister and Department of Health that you can't believe anything in the latest NSW Health Infrastructure Masterplan. The plan states that the new ED is set for demolition in the near future.

"If this was not our reality, we would probably be laughing at the ineptitude and insanity of these unfolding plans."

Ms Thomas said the new $558-million clinical services building and upgrades at Albury hospital would deliver "safer and better care" for the region.

She pointed to more medical and surgical beds, new operating theatres, expanded outpatient and specialist treatment areas, a new ICU, relocated maternity and newborn services, a new children's inpatient unit, adult acute mental health inpatient unit and more parking.

"For too long the border towns have had a fragmented health system that has seen the duplication of services and patients needing to be transported between Albury and Wodonga campuses.," Ms Thomas said in a letter to The Border Mail.

"We listened to clinicians who told us this was not safe and that acute services needed to be located in one place."

Ms Cowan said Better Border Health was "not excited by a visit to open a shiny new thing or cut ribbons".

"The ED is well behind schedule, probably over budget, and has demonstrated the extraordinary challenges of working in a construction site for staff, patients and visitors," she said.

"Ministers should be visiting to respond to the groundswell of concerns about a $558 million project that will not improve the health outcomes for our region.

"The community has had enough and we cannot simply stand by and quietly accept this ongoing wasteful redevelopment."

Both states' health ministers were last on the Border together in September 2023 to inspect the construction of the Albury emergency department.