New hospital campus to be built under Daniel Andrews’ $6bn plan

A $6bn hospital plan that Dan Andrews has labelled Australia’s biggest will include an upgrade to Melbourne’s world-leading biomedical precinct.

Melbourne’s world-leading biomedical precinct will receive a major upgrade as part of the government’s $6bn hospital project.

Premier Daniel Andrews on Wednesday announced research facilities at Parkville and Arden would be redeveloped to provide modern facilities and attract more studies and clinical trials.

This includes a dedicated Clinical Trials Centre at at the Arden precinct, which will see the addition of new research spaces and training facilities.

The government will partner with the University of Melbourne to establish the Victorian Digital Health Command at Parkville, which will provide data to support future clinical trials and the development of medical technology.

It will also play a major role in helping regional and rural Victorians access telehealth services.

This forms part of the government’s plan for a new medical precinct at Arden and Parkville, which will see upgrades to the Royal Melbourne and Royal Women’s Hospitals and second campuses for both hospitals.

The Premier on Tuesday announced the $6bn medical precinct project, which will be the biggest health revamp in Australia.

The health hub, to be located in the newly created suburb of Arden, will be linked to the existing Royal Melbourne and Royal Women sites in Parkville by a two-minute train trip on the Metro Tunnel.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital is in dire need of an upgrade. Picture: David Crosling

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp backed the hospital plan.

“One of the best things about living in the City of Melbourne is access to world-class healthcare,” Cr Capp said.

“Today’s announcement of significant and sustained investment in the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Royal Women’s Hospital both in Parkville and Arden means we can be confident that families in Melbourne will continue to receive the best care available for generations to come.”

In 2020, former Health Minister Martin Foley first told of the big plans to the Herald Sun.

At the time, he said that $10m towards the project had been included in that year’s state budget to begin early planning works.

On Tuesday, Premier Daniel Andrews committed an initial investment of between $2bn and $2.5bn for the first stage of the project.

Construction on the new hospital site at Arden will begin 2025, when the Metro Tunnel project is finished, with stage one of the hospital to be completed in 2031.

The second stage of the project will see parts of the existing hospital buildings at Parkville rebuilt and expanded.

During that construction period, patients will be treated at the new Arden medical precinct.

Once complete, the Arden sites will become centres for elective surgery, outpatient treatment, clinical trials, rehabilitation and low-risk women’s healthcare services, while the redeveloped original hospital sites will focus on emergency, trauma and acute care.

How the Arden precinct could be set up.

Mr Andrews said: “Put simply, if you’re seeing a heart specialist, you’ll visit your doctor at RMH Arden – and if you’re having a heart attack you’ll be taken to the RMH Parkville”.

“Similarly, pregnant women will have their outpatient appointments at the Women’s Arden campus, and if they are experiencing complications, give birth at the Women’s campus in Parkville.”

Mr Andrews dubbed the announcement the “biggest hospital project in Australian history”.

“This is such an important project for every single Victorian,” he said.

“These hospitals belong to us all – they care for some of the sickest and most seriously hurt patients and Victorians are rightly proud of them, but they’re outgrowing their current sites.

“We’re starting the biggest health infrastructure project in our nation’s history, growing our healthcare workforce and giving workers more training and research opportunities than ever before – proving that good governments can do more than one thing at a time.”

It is expected the project’s final price tag will cost taxpayers between $5bn and $6bn.

Shadow Treasurer David Davis on Tuesday said an elected Coalition government wouldn’t guarantee to proceed with the project.

But Mr Davis confirmed the already allocated $2.2bn figure would remain set aside to be used for healthcare purposes.

“We will look carefully at the best way forward on these matters,” he said.

“I would not commit to the exact plan (put forward by the Andrews government).

“In government, we would certainly keep that $2.2bn in healthcare and we would certainly be looking at these campuses and we would be making sure that work is done to bring them up to modern standards, but a half baked plan that has a black hole in its funding is not the solution.”

Mr Davis said the plan to split hospital campuses had raised “significant concerns about significant deficiencies”.

“It’s clear that our health system is in chaos, our health system is crumbling, and hospitals do need to be rebuilt around the country,” he added.

“But what’s clear here is that $2.2bn has been allocated for at least a $6bn project. There is, therefore, a $4bn black hole in the government’s funding.

“You can’t get a long way in your car if you only put a little bit of petrol in. You’re going to run short.

“I want to see a health system rebuilt and that’s urgent, but a half baked plan, an unfunded plan, is no plan at all.”