The Victorian Government has weighed in on the fight over hospital
The Victorian government has explained its position as bordering Albury and Wodonga councils bicker over which state should get a new hospital.
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The Victorian Government has weighed in on a fiery debate, saying the NSW side of the border was the better option for a $558m investment for better health services in the growing Albury Wodonga region.
This comes as the border cities continue to dispute the location of a new hospital and whether the significant investment was in the best interest of the greater region.
According to the Victorian Government, the existing Albury campus hospital was an ideal location for constructing the hospital as it was more spacious.
The Herald Sun has been told the Albury campus had space to expand and consolidate the services provided at both campuses. In contrast, the Wodonga campus was too small to meet the projected needs of the community.
“Early planning confirmed that a single-site hospital, to the size and scale needed to meet the forecasted healthcare needs of the community, could only be constructed on the existing Albury Campus,” a Victorian government spokeswoman said.
“As the only cross-border public health service in the country, and with the local population set to soar by a third by 2036, we took the time to investigate options and get the Albury Wodonga Hospital redevelopment right.”
The master plan, which entails the upgrade details, was guided by the infrastructure needs identified in the 2021 Clinical Services Plan developed by health authorities.
“The master plan process was a collaborative one in which Albury Wodonga Health, together with the Victorian and NSW governments, considered all available options to best meet the projected healthcare needs of Albury Wodonga and the wider region over the coming decades,” they added.
However, they refused to publicly release the document despite mounting council demands.
The Herald Sun understands NSW and Victoria have an inter-governmental agreement that sets out the administration and funding for Albury Wodonga Health.
Both governments will soon sign a new Intergovernmental Agreement 2022-2035.
The NSW and Victorian governments last year announced they would join forces to deliver better health services for the area after demands from both communities, with a joint investment of $558m announced towards upgrading Albury Base Hospital.
The redevelopment would include a new clinical services building and helipad.
News of the redevelopment was initially welcomed by Albury City, Albury Wodonga Health and Better Border Health.
However, Wodonga City Council has since waged war on the plans and wants a hospital built on its side of the river.
Wodonga mayor Ron Mildern said the fact plans to upgrade Albury hospital were yet to be released was concerning.
“We’re not even certain that there’s a master plan that’s been done that reflects the funding. We are concerned the funding is a political decision not a decision based on structural and clinical service needs,” Mr Mildren said.
Wodonga council believe a new hospital is in the best interest of the growing population of the region and are advocating to the state government to reconsider the investment decision.
Mr Mildern said the council was advocating for a hospital that’s in “the best location”.
“The appropriate site will have good access for everybody across the region and be accessible from the freeway but the single greenfields site is critical to get the standard of services that are available, [and a hospital] that will meet the community needs into the future,” he said.
Mr Mildern also stressed his concerns about the “very limited” information released by the authorities over how the multimillion-dollar funding would be used.
“The funding in the proposal that’s before us, in essence only merges the two campuses of hospital together and doesn’t fundamentally improve the big capacities. And doesn’t largely increase, if at all, any of the available spaces for increased services,” he said.
At a recent council meeting, the Wodonga council called on Albury City Council to join them in advocating for a single-site hospital on a greenfields site and to call on the Victorian Government to demonstrate transparency.
Albury City Mayor Kylie King rejected Wodonga’s advocacy agenda on Monday saying there was not enough information released to “justify” advocacy for a greenfields site.
“We acknowledge our successful joint advocacy to date and respect Wodonga Council’s further advocacy agenda however there is insufficient evidence to justify advocacy for a greenfields site given specific details of the proposed Albury Hospital Campus redevelopment are yet to be released,” she said.
“Experts have determined through New South Wales and Victorian government that the redevelopment of the Albury campus is the best solution to meet our immediate and future health needs.”
Better Border Health, a community organisation started to campaign “for funding for health services and a new public hospital for Albury-Wodonga” also voiced its concerns.
“Our concern about building on the Albury site is that it would require multiple stages to effect a complete rebuild, with impacts on clinical services that could not be safely and efficiently delivered on what would be a building site for two to three years,” Better Border Health convener, Di Thomas.
“We have also had concerns about the limitations on the Albury site in ensuring a new hospital was future proofed for the region’s predicted population growth, and could provide space for an education hub and a private hospital.
Community member Derek Robinson said the weather should be a deciding factor.
“If the weather gets a lot worse it might be better to have hospitals on both sides of the Murray,” he said.
Another local Kristy Thomson said two hospitals were needed for the growing population in the region.
“There is definitely a need for two hospitals. Albury always doesn’t have enough beds for patients and they need to send to them to Wodonga,” she said.
The health authority for the region, Albury Wodonga Health, has been contacted for comment.
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