Bendigo hospital debate escalates to political level

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDNov 5 2010

A public rally yesterday saw Bendigo Hospital staff and patients upset that cancer services will not be consolidated in the new redeveloped facility. There were severe protests against the renovations that led to a debate between the Victorian Government and Opposition. Labor and the Coalition have both promised to rebuild the hospital. Coalition committed a $630 million to a new hospital after Labor announced a new $528 million hospital in May.

Opposition’s health spokesman, David Davis, says the Coalition’s plan will meet the lobby group’s demands. “The idea of having people backwards and forwards across the road is a second-rate solution,” he said.

However Labor’s Member for Bendigo East, Jacinta Allan feels that the Opposition’s proposal means bringing down a good existing cancer facility. “Cancer infrastructure services that have been built up by the Labor Government and the community over the past few years,” she said. They are saying that the Coalition’s plan has not been properly costed but the Opposition says its proposal is budgeted for.

Rod Mitchell, a surgeon at the Bendigo Hospital said, “I spoke to a number of colleagues this morning in a meeting and they were all of the same ilk and opinion, that this was not going to work as a co-located event. That was their opinion.” He added that the Friends of the Bendigo Hospital group is not taking sides in the political debate. “You need to be political in one sense to achieve a favorable outcome with enough funds to do what you need to do, but nobody's firing slingshots or arrows at one party or the other. They just want the end result to be the best for Bendigo, its region and its citizens,” he said. The Friends of Bendigo Hospital’s first rally called on both sides of politics to “get the new hospital right the first time”.

The State Government has chosen Bendigo to host its official election campaign launch later this month. The launch will be held at the Capital Theatre on November 16.