The NSW and Victorian Governments have unveiled the $558 million Albury Wodonga regional hospital master plan.

The hospital development will be situated at the current Albury Hospital site, but the master plan paves the way for both immediate development and long-term expansion, stemming from community input between April and July this year.

Notably, the master plan does not specify the number of hospital beds. 

Further stages in planning and design are scheduled for 2024, encompassing concept design, schematic design, and planning approvals.

The Albury Hospital campus project will entail a combination of new and revamped facilities, including additional medical and surgical beds, fresh operating theatres, a children's ward, an Intensive Care Unit, and an expansion of outpatient and specialist treatment spaces. Additionally, maternity and newborn services in Wodonga will relocate, and a new adult acute mental health inpatient unit will replace Nolan House. 

The project also includes the creation of more parking space and a new helipad.

To address community concerns, a series of information sessions will be held following the master plan's release this month.

“The master plan marks a significant milestone in the delivery of this contemporary health facility, which will transform the Albury hospital campus to expand and enhance healthcare services for the Albury Wodonga and surrounding communities,” says Ryan Park, New South Wales Minister for Regional Health.

“It provides the framework for the redevelopment, and includes construction of a new multi-storey clinical services building, upgrades to existing infrastructure, as well as improved access in and around the hospital.”

Mary-Anne Thomas, Victorian Minister for Health Infrastructure, noted the successful collaboration with New South Wales.

“While we're planning for the future, we're also making improvements to patient experience right now,” she said. 

“Stage one of the new $36 million Albury Hospital Emergency Department is set to be completed early next year, with a new short-stay unit scheduled to be completed in the middle of next year."

Jonathan Green, Albury Wodonga Health chairperson, welcomed the plan's release.

“The master plan sets the foundation to deliver Albury Wodonga Health's clinical services plan, consolidating acute healthcare services on a single location to support sustainable healthcare facilities and services, whilst leveraging existing infrastructure to get the best possible outcome from this significant investment,” Mr Green said.

“In addition to the master plan release, the Victorian Department of Health has commenced service planning for the Wodonga Hospital campus due for completion in early 2024.”

But the Better Border Health lobby group has criticised the master plan, claiming that it lacks critical details. 

“A handful of very basic schematic drawings, artist impressions that bear almost no resemblance to the actual Albury site, and a summary that parrots previously released project outlines does not constitute a master plan,” Better Border Health said in a statement. 

“NSW Health Infrastructure has been working on this for close to 11 months.

“It is unbelievable that more than $2 million has already been spent to deliver such a poor outcome that provides our community with so little confidence in the viability of this project.”