NSW Health responds to questions on lack of details in master plan

A NSW Health Infrastructure spokesperson responding to Border Mail questions first put to state Health Minister Ryan Park, after the release of an Albury hospital master plan on Monday, stated there would be more beds but could not say how many.

"The final number of beds and scope will be confirmed through the concept design process," the spokesperson said.

That phase is listed as "early 2024", according to a timeline set out for the upgrade of Albury hospital.

The failure to mention bed numbers and other details in the master plan has left Border politicians, Wodonga councillors and health service advocates dismayed.

Northern Victorian Nationals MP Gaelle Broad added her voice to those concerns in a speech to Parliament.

"The master plan does not include bed numbers, without such key details it will be difficult to provide feedback," Ms Broad said.

NSW Health is following a template it uses to build hospitals across the state, including Wagga, and it consists of planning, design and delivery stages.

It is in the early stages of the design phase.

"The project scope is informed by the planning recommendations of the Albury Wodonga Health clinical services plan which outlines what services and future capacity may be needed to support health care delivery in the future," the spokesperson said.

That plan emerged in February 2021 and predates an 83-page master plan from December that year which has not been released by health authorities but has been made public after Greens MP Amanda Cohn ordered its disclosure through parliament.

The document recommended a greenfield hospital, rather than building on an existing site.

"As part of the master planning process, considerable time was taken to review previous site reports, undertake new site investigations and review all potential options to meet the projected health care needs of the community over the coming decades," the spokesperson said without directly addressing the greenfield matter.

She added that car parking capacity was still in flux.

"More car parking will be provided due to the uplift in services being delivered," the spokesperson said.

"Further detailed planning will determine car parking numbers in accordance with statutory planning requirements."

So-called concept, schematic and detailed designs will be worked through and subject to public comment before a final blueprint is submitted to a NSW planning authority for determination.

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