Department pauses Hamilton hospital ED upgrade pending statewide strategy
Victoria pauses the $32 million ED upgrade for Hamilton Base Hospital while a statewide health strategy completes, withheld for over a year.
Hamilton Base Hospital's emergency department has waited 30 years for an upgrade. The design was finished, but the Department of Health put the project on pause while a statewide health industry prioritisation strategy was being completed.
The strategy was expected to be done by mid-2025. The government still won't say what it found, why the hospital was left out of the latest budget, or when work might start.
An MP raised questions in parliament; the minister never answered. A freedom of information request filed last October remains held up.
- 30 years
- ED waiting for upgrade
- 32 million dollars
- Upgrade cost
- March 2024
- Design completed
- More than a year
- FOI request held for
Why it mattersPatients and staff face ongoing safety risks in an ageing ED while bureaucracy delays a promised rebuild.
AustraliaWestern Victoria residents needing emergency care use a facility that should have been upgraded decades ago; the government's secrecy blocks local accountability.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 4 h ago
