Casey Hospital: Liberals promise $500m upgrade to Berwick hospital
The Liberals’ promise to spend $500m upgrading Casey Hospital, using money earmarked for the Suburban Rail Loop, has been slammed as a “desperate election grab” by Labor.
South East
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The state election campaign has kicked off, with the Liberals and Nationals promising to splash the cash on healthcare upgrades in the southeast.
Announcing a $500m upgrade to Casey Hospital in the form of a new campus, Liberals leader Matthew Guy promised to ease the pressure faced by the Casey Berwick campus of the hospital.
The upgrade will include an urgent care centre with a dedicated children’s treatment area, 150 beds, general and specialist surgery operating theatres, maternity services and more.
By reprioritising $35 billion of the Andrews’ Labor Government’s Suburban Rail Loop into health care, the Liberals and Nationals are promising to deliver “real solutions to fix the health crisis without new taxes and more debt”, promises that the Labor Party says Victorians “can’t trust”.
Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said this was a “desperate election grab in Casey” at the expense of another Melbourne community.
“Usually you have to wait until after an election for Matthew Guy’s Liberals to close hospitals – they’ve promised to scrap a community hospital that construction has already started on in Whittlesea in favour of a desperate election grab in Casey,” she said.
“You can’t trust the Liberals on health – Matthew Guy needs to come clean on which other hospitals he will cut and close.”
The Liberals are promising to fix the Victorian health crisis, to “give Victorians the healthcare they deserve”.
“As Premier, my number one priority is to fix the health crisis,” Mr Guy said.
“A Government I lead will do this by shelving Daniel Andrews’ $35 billion pet project and reprioritising every cent into new and upgraded hospitals, hiring and upskilling 40,000 new healthcare workers and investing to fix triple-zero.”
Ms Thomas said Labor was promising a similar focus on healthcare and upgrades in the southeast, including a $295 million upgrade to Dandenong Hospital.
Casey Hospital and Monash Health were unable to comment on election promises.
gemma.scerri@news.com.au
