The campaign is on.
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A group of elected representatives from all sides of politics and all three tiers of government has teamed up with community groups to push for a new hospital for the Mountains.
A public meeting on the issue last week concluded that the ageing Anzac Memorial Hospital in Katoomba is no longer "fit for purpose" and must be replaced.
At nearly 100 years old, many of the buildings are dilapidated and shabby, buckets are repeatedly used to catch roof leaks, parking is inadequate and there is no more level ground on which to expand.
Peter Collins, chairman of the Nepean Blue Mountains District Health Service (NBMDHS), told the meeting the board resolved some time ago to "support and make clear [to government] that there is a very genuine need for a new hospital in the Blue Mountains".
He advised the audience to embrace "collaboration and consensus" and said: "If everyone is on the same page, things can get done."
Kay Hyman, CEO of NBMDHS, said there was no more available land around the hospital that could be built on.
Labor MPs Susan Templeman and Trish Doyle were joined by Liberal MLC Shayne Mallard and Liberal candidate for Macquarie, Sarah Richards, as well as the three Ward 1 councillors (Labor, Liberal and Greens) in agreeing to form a coalition to mount a campaign for a new hospital.
Katoomba Chamber of Commerce and Community (which organised the meeting), the Blackheath Alliance and other groups will add their support.
Speakers praised the heroic efforts of staff who battled to work in sometimes challenging conditions. But they also pointed to services and facilities that were either absent or not sufficiently funded/resourced, including:
- The lack of MRI (meaning no capacity for any MRIs between Bathurst and Penrith);
- Inadequate orthopaedic and rehabilitation facilities;
- No critical care unit;
- No intensive care unit:
- No resources for 24/7 emergency surgery; and
- Inadequate mental health and palliative care facilities.
Ms Templeman said: "It isn't good enough for us to have to traipse down to Nepean."
Mr Mallard said there was no doubt that Katoomba hospital needed an upgrade. Nepean Blue Mountains Area Health District had identified the constraints of the site and was prioritising a new regional satellite hospital to service Mountains residents into the future.
Mr Mallard said the "clear focus of the next round of capital works ... will move on to regional hospitals".
In 2018, a spokesman for NBM Local Health District told the Gazette that a new hospital was the "number one priority" in the district's asset strategic plan to help meet community needs and to take pressure off Nepean Hospital.
Both Ms Templeman and Ms Doyle raised that commitment at last week's meeting, asking why no further steps had been taken.
Mr Collins said the board needed $15 million for the planning process.
The group will initially write to the minister for regional health, Bronnie Taylor, raising the issue with her as a matter of urgency.
