Launceston-born engineer Dean Coleman, whose company Solutions-won has connections to health infrastructure financiers Plenary Group, wants the state government to scrap its RHH redevelopment plan in favour of a new hospital.
The 500-bed energy efficient hospital would be built at the Queen’s Domain along with a 320-room five star hotel, including 120 rooms for patients, a medical adminstration building, war museum, underground car-park and public foreshore access.
The Australian Medical Association and Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation support the project and want the government to seriously consider the proposal.
Health minister Michael Ferguson said the government remained committed to rescuing the redevelopment, adding that he would continue to hear from Mr Coleman’s consortium about the proposal.
Mr Ferguson will receive the $1 million Royal Hobart Hospital Rescue Taskforce report, which is reviewing the redevelopment, next month.
Mr Coleman said the project would be fully funded and was shovel ready for April next year.
‘‘It won’t require one more dollar of taxpayer funding than is already allocated to the current project but will have net savings upwards of $70 million annually from efficiencies gained from operating in a new purpose-built, energy-efficient structure,’’ he said.
Efficiencies include reduced nursing station numbers, bed cost savings from putting new mothers in the hotel after their first night in hospital, and energy savings.
Australian Medical Association northern spokesman Glenn Richardson said anything that improved services for patients in the North was welcomed.
He said health access for Northerners needing cardiac or neuro surgery would be made easier with the addition of the hotel.
ANMF state-secretary Neroli Ellis said a new hospital would alleviate the clinical risks associated with the RHH redevelopment.
The war museum is included to account for the Cenotaph.
Can’t afford to build it: analyst
HEALTH analyst Martyn Goddard says the new ‘‘pie in the sky’’ Royal Hobart Hospital proposal will not get off the ground.
Mr Goddard said the economic climate would prevent a new hospital from being built.
He said it should not be forgotten that a significant amount of money had already been spent on the RHH redevelopment.
‘‘The more we spend on bricks and mortar the less we have to spend on patients,’’ he said.
‘‘Obviously we need physical surroundings that are of an adequate standard, but spending a couple of billion dollars on a new hospital is not going to happen right now.’’
Mr Goddard said he was unsure of where the money was going to come from and rejected claims that the hospital could be funded from the estimated $70 million operational savings.
‘‘Talking about savings is all very well but the cost comes immediately, the savings come over decades.
‘‘The history of new developments tends to show us that figures on savings are inflated and costs are underestimated … we would have to be very sure that this was not going to be the case before we even looked at this.