Health is a major issue in the upcoming Victorian election as Labor seek another term at the helm. Labor wants to regain the confidence of outer and very multicultural suburbs, which suffered the most during the two years of Covid and lockdowns.
The government announced the upgrade of the Dandenong Hospital in its Hospital Plan for the South-East. The south east suburbs of Melbourne are creaking at the seams and health services are feeling the pressure.
Dandenong Hospital admits more than 31,000 patients and treats more than 79,000 people in the emergency department.
Labor promised $295 million for the upgrade it, which includes an expanded emergency department to treat an extra 12,000 patients every year. There will also be a new intensive care unit and a new outpatient clinic.
Work on the Dandenong Hospital redevelopment will start by 2026 which Labor says will create over 750 jobs through construction alone.
Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas announced the upgrade on Monday while touring the Victorian Heart Hospital (VHH) in Clayton, where construction on the $577 million facility is now complete. One Australian dies every 12 minutes from cardiovascular disease, a sobering statistic.
Minister Steve Dimopoulos, the member for Oakleigh said that the Victorian Heart Hospital, “is the first of its kind in Australia.”
“It will join an elite league of facilities around the world as a centre of excellence for the research, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.”
Australia’s first specialist, standalone cardiac hospital opens for patients in a few months.
The Victorian Heart Hospital has capacity for 206 beds and will provide up to 2,150 cardiac surgeries, 28,300 emergency presentations and 108,000 consultations and outpatient appointments every year.
Victorian Heart Hospital aims to train future cardiac medicine, nursing and allied health professionals, with more than 300 undergraduate students, 260 postgraduate students and 20 PhD students to train on site each year.
Premier Daniel Andrews said that the Victorian Heart Hospital “will change lives and save lives – further cementing Victoria at the forefront of medical research, while boosting our healthcare workforce with the next generation of cardiac specialists.”
