TWO major private health providers are about to enter into negotiations with the State Government to co-locate at the proposed new Busselton hospital.
The Minister for Health, Dr Kim Hames, is poised to announce that The St Ives Group, which had shown an interest in establishing a facility at Vasse when it was selected initially as the site for the new hospital, as well as St John of God Health Care want to establish facilities at the new hospital.
They were selected after the State Government sought expressions of interest last year.
Dr Hames will outline details of the progress of the $77.4 million new hospital today, to alleviate fears the hospital will not go ahead.
He believes the two private health providers will give the shire “a comprehensive range of health services including private acute care services and aged care services”.
Bateman Grundmann Architects have been appointed as the Site Master Planning Architects and will work closely with the three parties to design the campus.
Dr Hames said their role would ensure a creative campus design and involve careful management of the local western ringtail possum population as well as ensuring necessary environmental and developmental requirements, including shire approvals, were met.
The State Government and Vasse MLA Troy Buswell have come under fire over the decision to delay work on the hospital.
It sparked a motion by the Busselton Shire Council at last week’s meeting to put pressure on the Government to start building the hospital.
The council passed a motion to adopt a position of supporting the earliest possible construction of the new hospital, preferably in the 2009/2010 financial year so that it was completed and operating within three years.
It decided to request the shire president write to the Premier, Treasurer, Health Minister and Minister for Regional Development stating their position.
Cr David Reid had foreshadowed an amendment claiming that Busselton shire had been well treated by the new Government and he believed it had had a very fair go of getting its hands into the State’s public purse.
Mr Buswell said there was never any question that Busselton was not going to get a new hospital and telegraphed on ABC regional radio last week that the Government was still very active in discussions with private sector operators and what kind of services would be involved.
“We have had to make some tough decisions in the Budget and a number of hospitals had to be put onto different timelines and Busselton was one of them,” he reiterated.
“It is our intention to provide the Busselton community with a comprehensive range of health services including private acute care services and aged care services,” Dr Hames said.
“This is an exciting new phase in the redevelopment of the Busselton hospital which will provide the people of Busselton and surrounding communities with access to ‘seamless health care’ – a comprehensive range of integrated health services located on a single “one stop shop” campus.”
Mr Buswell said that, although the development of the new campus had been delayed, work undertaken by the State Government was a clear commitment to the residents of the region.
“The redevelopment of the Busselton hospital into a comprehensive health campus is an important project and the State Government is keen to see the results of the detailed negotiation to follow,” he said.
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