New home for Warrnambool Medical Clinic as Lyndoch unveils $100m masterplan

A $32-million redevelopment of Lyndoch will begin in March to make way for Warrnambool Medical Clinic to relocate to a new purpose-built medical centre on the site.

The project is stage one and two of a $100-million four-stage expansion which will transform the look of the Hopkins River waterfront site over the next eight years.

The vacant Swinton wing of Lyndoch will be updated and extended to accommodate 43 high-care beds in a facility that will be built out over the sensory garden, giving the entire facade a modern new look. The garden will be relocated.

The 20-year-old Tomlinson residence, which houses 27 dementia patients, would then be demolished to make way for a multi-level medical clinic with a 120-car underground car park facing Hopkins Road. The acquisition of Warrnambool Medical Clinic, which has been operating at its current site since 1912, will happen on April 14 but it would be about two years before the clinic moves from its Liebig Street/Raglan Parade site to Lyndoch.

Dr Phil Hall, who runs Warrnambool Medical Clinic, said the project was unique with only one other facility like it in Melbourne.

“This is the only rural situation where there’s an aged-care facility and general practice on the same site,” he said.

The new medical centre would accommodate 22 GPs along with a pathology lab, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, diabetic educators, dietitians and visiting specialists.

There are also plans to include a radiology department, which may ease pressure on Warrnambool hospital’s Emergency Department by dealing with lower-level medical conditions. “It’s pretty exciting stuff,” Dr Hall said.

Lyndoch chief executive officer Doreen Power said the innovative project would bring two of Warrnambool’s medical icons together in the one place. "I’m wanting a one-stop shop for the community,” Ms Power said.

She said the clinic’s operations and services would remain independent, and the Target Centre and Mortlake clinics would also remain open.

Dr Hall said while the joint venture was partly in response to the ageing population, the clinic’s emphasis was not just on aged care.

While it will be known as Warrnambool Medical Clinic by Lyndoch Living, Dr Hall said the clinic will still offer “family care from the cradle to the grave”.