![South West Healthcare chief executive officer Craig Fraser. Picture by Anthony Brady South West Healthcare chief executive officer Craig Fraser. Picture by Anthony Brady](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/grbest%40fairfaxmedia.com.au/60fb8ac7-9c1a-4e63-9c3f-6808cebfd213.jpg/r0_0_5713_3517_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Exciting or disappointing?
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Which adjective best describes this week's concession nine major aspects have been cut from the $384.2m Warrnambool Base Hospital redevelopment?
When the state government set aside the money in the November 2020 budget, it hailed the project "the largest ever health capital build in rural Victoria".
South West Healthcare chief executive officer Craig Fraser at the time said the amount budgeted was "beyond our wildest dreams".
"We were never aware of what the figure was to deliver the second stage but this amount will definitely deliver the redevelopment we've had on the cards and been planning toward," he said.
But this week, after the government repeatedly rejected calls for extra funding because of cost blow outs as high as $100m associated with soaring building expenses and assurances the scope of the project would not change, Mr Fraser confirmed our worst fears. The scope had to be reduced.
There will be no new kitchen, morgue, pathology lab, staff cafeteria, rehab gym, biomedical department, medical records and education areas. But, critically, all direct patient-facing areas would be delivered as originally planned, including a 32-bed inpatient unit, full theatre suite, emergency department, medical imaging, day surgery, satellite pharmacy, paediatrics and dialysis areas.
Why has the government repeatedly lied about this when questioned? Why did Premier Jacinta Allan, during her visit to the hospital just seven days earlier, defer questions to Mr Fraser when her government has effectively said 'this is what you get'?
Mr Fraser, who has reportedly fought hard to retain the original plan, said car parking was a "priority" in the redevelopment. Originally a 120-space car park was to be located in the basement as part of a plan to create 400 new spots to ease congestion in neighbouring streets and more importantly, provide easier and safer access to the hospital for our most vulnerable.
That car park has been ditched from the new plan but instead an extra level will be added to the multi-level car park across Ryot Street at the cancer centre.
The current underground car park - which had been earmarked to go in the redevelopment to make way for a new kitchen - will now stay.
The existing 70 underground car parks, combined with the new 50 spaces across the road, would mean the redevelopment would retain the same number of spaces on-site or nearby.
Essentially, to get an acceptable parking solution, the compromise is losing those nine aspects of the project regarded as support services.
It's disappointing the rehabilitation gym and kitchen won't be included, both have been in dire need of overhauls.
Mr Fraser said acquiring more funding would have been nice.
But the reality is the Labor state government has run out of money. As previously reported, every other major hospital build in the past couple of years has received extra funding, including Ballarat in the most recent budget. While we in the south-west are right to expect to be treated fairly and equitably with other regions, politically the government has run out of goodwill. We are being forced to live within the state's means while other areas aren't.
It's a bitter pill to swallow. But Mr Fraser, who has more skin in the project than anyone, maintains the project is exciting.
"This is still a really positive thing for us...it is still delivering a $384 million project in rural Victoria, which is a fantastic result for us."
He is right. It's better than the alternative of sticking with the cramped, run-down facility that is not fit for purpose. We have argued a reduced project scope is a missed opportunity - it is - because the region is growing and ageing and demand will only continue to increase. But something is better than nothing at all.