Minister calls for federal funding for new hospital

QUEENSLAND'S Health Minister has called on the Federal Government to partly fund the new Toowoomba Hospital, set to be built at the Baillie Henderson site.

QUEENSLAND'S Health Minister has called on the Federal Government to provide funding for a new Toowoomba Hospital, set to be built at the Baillie Henderson site.

Steven Miles said funding for a new hospital for Toowoomba should be a priority for the Federal Government after they announced a $1.25 billion fund for health care projects this week.

Mr Miles said he called on Groom MP John McVeigh to make sure Toowoomba got its fair share of funding from the recent announcement.

"If John McVeigh is serious about the healthcare of people in Toowoomba he will tell Scott Morrison the city needs a new hospital to keep up with demand," Mr Miles said.

"It's unclear yet exactly what projects Scott Morrison intends to spend this money on, but I expect our Federal Member to demand Toowoomba gets its fair share.

Steven Miles announcing the new Toowoomba Hospital in September. . Picture: Bev Lacey

"I'm sick of this Federal LNP Government short-changing Toowoomba with over $12.1 million in cuts to the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service.

"If John McVeigh has any sway in Canberra at all, he will make sure the new Toowoomba hospital gets top priority for funding."

Dr McVeigh said he took advice from health experts in the Darling Downs, not "Steven Miles in George St, Brisbane".

"I welcome Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt's announcement of the $1.25 billion boost to health services which complements our record investment in public hospitals," Dr McVeigh said.

"In Groom this will help us focus on regional health and hospital infrastructure and important health services such as cancer, drug and alcohol and mental health.

"It's a bit rich of Steven Miles to claim that we are cutting funding to the Toowoomba Hospital.

John McVeigh said he took advice from local health experts, not Steven Miles. Picture: Bev Lacey

"The publicly available figures show that federal funding to the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service has increased from $65 million when Federal Labor left office in 2013 to over $170 million this year.

"So according to the Queensland Health Minister, funding growth of 158.6 per cent since the LNP was elected is a cut."

A $9 million business case to build a new hospital at Baillie Henderson was announced by the State Government in September.

"There will be a new hospital," Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said at the time.

"It will be staged over time and we need to get the business case done as quickly as possible so then of course the next steps can go ahead, and that is funding the new hospital."

Originally published as Minister calls for federal funding for new hospital