The Victorian Minister for Tourism, Steve Dimopoulos MP, received an inside look at Australia’s first heart hospital in Clayton, Melbourne before it officially opens its doors to patients on Thursday.
Mr Dimopoulos toured the new 206-bed Victorian Heart Hospital in Clayton on Sunday alongside Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas.
In a post on Facebook, Mr Dimopoulos said the hospital was the “first of its kind in Australia” and would provide “world leading treatment and research.”
“A public hospital for all Victorians. Right here. Promised, funded, delivered – now opened – all under a Victorian Labor Government,” Mr Dimopoulos’ said in his post.
The $577 million facility will be able to cater for up to 2150 cardiac surgeries, 28,300 emergency presentations and 108,000 consultations a year.
It will also provide telehealth services to reduce the need for country Victorians to travel for specialist appointments, and be used to train more than 300 undergraduate, 260 postgraduate and 20 PhD students each year.
Early works for the stand-alone hospital began in July 2019 and major construction was completed late last year.
The Opposition has criticised the Andrews Government for delays, but Premier Andrews said the project’s scope had expanded over the years, altering the timeline for its construction.
Source: Southern Highland News.
