Sarah Courtney,Minister for Health
The Hodgman majority Liberal Government is committed to building a better health care system for all Tasmanians.
Part of this commitment is access to quality health care for Tasmanians living in rural and regional communities.
This is exactly why we are backing them with our $15 million Rural Hospital and Ambulance Station Fund, because we know how important these facilities are for those local communities.
We are delivering on this key commitment which we took to the 2018 election, as we’ve seen here at the George Town District Hospital today.
The hospital is undergoing nearly $300,000 in refurbishments which includes the now completed upgrades to the Main Reception and Nurses Station, with further works to upgrade the bathroom facilities to begin shortly.
The $15 million Rural Hospital and Ambulance Station Fund is expected to create around 180 jobs to deliver these much needed infrastructure upgrades. This plan will support even more jobs into the future as we increase services across our Community Health Centres along with District Hospitals.
Close to $7 million of the fund has already been allocated to a range of projects which are planned to commence shortly or currently underway including;
- $500,000 for air conditioning, ventilation and heating upgrades at the Devonport Community Health Centre;
- $238,000 for a range of upgrades at Deloraine, including a new recreation area, physiotherapy space improvements and a kitchen upgrade;
- $340,000 for the Campbell Town hospital, including an upgrade for the nurses accommodation and a new modern medical oxygen system in the emergency area;
- $700,000 at the New Norfolk District Hospital for important electrical infrastructure upgrades and the installation of a modern nurse call system; and
- $600,000 to improve water supply at the Tasman Multipurpose Centre
These are real projects with real benefits, delivering work for local firms and building better facilities for these communities.
