Member for Myall Lakes Stephen Bromhead announced that funding for the proposed Forster Public Hospital has been secured in the NSW Government's 2020-2021 Budget, which is due to be released next Tuesday.
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Speaking out the front of Taree's Manning Base Hospital today Friday, November 13, Mr Bromhead said Forster-Tuncurry would be one of four hospitals to share in a $7.9 million pool of planning money.
"That is for the continued planning and design of Forster Public Hospital," Mr Bromhead said.
"What that means is, with the clinical services plan they'll now go into the detailed design and planning for that hospital and there is funding there to do it.
"So we've delivered the clinical services plan, that has identified what is needed in that area, and this is the funding now to do the design of that."
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Mr Bromhead said the clinical services plan for the Lower Mid North Coast region had been completed; however, that comment stood in contrast to a recent statement from Hunter New England Health.
On Thursday, November 12, a spokesperson for the organisation told the Great Lakes Advocate the clinical services plan was yet to be endorsed by NSW Health and it was unlikely to be endorsed before the new year.
Asked about this, Mr Bromhead said "the clinical services plan is in the ministry of health and from that, this announcement - fantastic news, money in the budget for detailed planning".
Asked when the findings of the clinical services plan would be released to the public, Mr Bromhead said it was up to the ministry.
"It'll be released when they've finished going through it and getting things ready," he said.
Mr Bromhead also confirmed $1.5 million had been allocated in the 2020-2021 Budget for stage two of the Manning Base Hospital redevelopment.
"$1.5 million has been allocated to progress the $100 million stage two upgrade of Manning Base Hospital which will deliver expanded and upgraded inpatient accommodation, refurbished operating theatres, a new critical care unit and new recovery beds, as well as a new day surgery unit," he said.
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