By MATT NICHOLLS
ARMIDALE Hospital’s plea for a $60 million redevelopment was given another push yesterday.
Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall sat down with Upper House colleague Melinda Pavey and the management of the hospital to discuss updating the plans for the redevelopment.
Ms Pavey, who is the parliamentary secretary for regional health, said she was aware of the issues at Armidale Hospital and believed upgrading the plans would help the hospital’s cause when funding became available.
“I will definitely be using my influence to convince the Health Minister (Jillian Skinner) to allocate funding for
the updating of the plans,” she said.
At least $100,000 is needed to bring the redevelopment plans up to date, Mr Marshall said.
“The plans are almost three years old and since they were released there has been feedback from the medical staff on what could be improved and changed,” he said.
“It’s important that Armidale Hospital has plans ready to go if funding does become available.”
Ms Pavey reiterated that $10 million of State Government funding was still on the table for the Armidale Hospital, on the proviso the Federal Government funds the rest.
However, in a meeting in Canberra, Federal Health Minister Peter Dutton told Mr Marshall and New England MP Barnaby Joyce that no funds would be forthcoming in the short term.
“I appreciate Mr Dutton’s honesty in regards to the hospital, but we still need to be well prepared for when funding might become available,” she said.
