Glen Innes Severn Council has welcomed the significant investment currently underway at Glen Innes Hospital while calling for continued progress on the broader masterplan to deliver expanded long-term health services for the community.
The council has urged the NSW Government to publicly reaffirm its commitment to completing the full Glen Innes Hospital masterplan and expanding health services, following recent correspondence to Health Minister Ryan Park.
Mayor Margot Davis said the council had written formally to the minister seeking clarity and assurance that the current stage of works would not mark the end of the redevelopment and that future stages delivering expanded clinical services would proceed as originally planned.
“In our recent letter to the Minister, Council acknowledged the investment underway but made it clear that the current stage is an important step but does not yet deliver the broader service expansion envisaged under the masterplan,” Davis said.
“The Glen Innes community has consistently supported a whole‐of‐hospital redevelopment. That expectation remains.”
The council’s letter states the existing works form only part of an approved hospital masterplan and calls on the State Government to commit to the remaining stages that would deliver meaningful service improvements and long-term health outcomes for the region.
Davis said Glen Innes residents continued to face service gaps that required travel to other regional centres, placing pressure on patients, families and carers.
“Our community deserves access to contemporary, expanded hospital services comparable to other regional centres,” she said.
“Without clarity around future stages, uncertainty remains about the long-term delivery of expanded services for the community.”
The letter to the minister seeks certainty around:
- the full range of services intended to be delivered once the masterplan is complete
- the sequencing and funding pathway for future stages
- how service expansion will align with workforce attraction and retention in a rural setting
The council said it recognised the complexity of regional healthcare delivery and was seeking a collaborative pathway with NSW Health and the State Government to progress the project and ensure the hospital remained fit for purpose for decades to come.
“This is not about criticism for its own sake. We are calling for long‐term certainty for healthcare in Glen Innes and continuing the long-term vision outlined through the hospital masterplan and ensuring the community understands the pathway forward,” Davis said.
The council is now urging the NSW Government to provide clear public assurance that it remains committed to completing the Glen Innes Hospital masterplan and expanding services in line with community needs.
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