RELATED:
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
State member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell has stepped up her efforts to lobby the government to provide $52 million in funding to relocate Bendigo Health services currently housed in buildings that are unable to meet fire-safety standards.
The two cream brick towers, built between 1958 and 1972, are constructed in a way that makes it impossible for them to fully comply with fire safety standards introduced in 2012.
Ms Lovell called on Health Minister Jill Hennessy to fund the relocation of the dental and rehabilitation services which operate from the two buildings and demolish the towers.
“The new hospital is almost complete, so now is the time for decisions to be made for the future location of services, as well as what to do with the old Lucan Street facilities,” she said.
“The two cream brick towers on the Anne Caudle centre site of Bendigo Health do not, and cannot be made to, meet current fire safety standards.”
Ms Lovell said the $52 million would fund a Bendigo Health plan which would solve the fire safety problem and improve the amenity of both the wards and grounds of the new hospital.
“Bendigo Health believes the best solution to the fire safety issue is to relocate the services currently housed in the towers to the buildings that will remain on the Lucan Street site,” she said.
“To do this, the hospital will require an estimated $52 million in funding to refurbish the buildings the services are to be relocated to, as well as demolish the existing towers and landscape the old site.”
A spokeswoman for Ms Hennessy said the government would continue to work with Bendigo Health on possible options for the future use of the towers after patients move into the new hospital early next year.
“Bendigo Health has assured the government the towers are safe to occupy and that there is no risk to patients,” she said.
Bendigo Health chief executive officer John Mulder said the hospital would continue to discuss funding options with both the state and federal governments.
“Construction of the new world-class Bendigo hospital will be complete in early 2017, and will provide the people of Bendigo and surrounding areas with access to one of the best regional hospitals in Australia,” he said.
“To complete the project we are proposing to relocate our ambulatory rehabilitation services, dental services and support services from the North and East buildings on the Anne Caudle Centre campus, into existing buildings left vacant on the Lucan Street site by the move into the new facility.
“This would create an Ambulatory Care Centre of Excellence, complete with a new hydrotherapy pool to replace the current facility that has reached the end of its useful life.
“The link bridge over Arnold Street would allow interaction between the new hospital and the Ambulatory Care Centre of Excellence. This would also ensure the good use of retained buildings, reduce stock management and maintenance, eliminate substantial fire risks within the towers and provide a further contribution to the local economy.”