Dr LIM - 1999-11-25
During the last sittings, the minister gave a commitment that he would provide members of this House and the public of Alice Springs further information about the expressions of interest which were tendered for the construction of a private hospital facility in Alice Springs. I understand that all of the tender documents have now been assessed by his department. Will Alice Springs residents see a private hospital facility in the near future?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, Alice Springs is indeed well serviced in having a local member like Dr Lim, who has been very vigorous in his pursuit of this matter. He is aware that it has been a dream of the people of Alice Springs to have a private facility that they could attend if their insurance allowed them to do that.
Members would be aware that some years ago this government embarked on an extensive program costing some tens of millions of dollars to renovate Alice Springs Hospital and bring it up to a facility that would see them through the next half-century. That master plan was well under way and we had a couple of stages being built when we moved to investigate expressions of interest by private providers to look at the total management of our Territory hospitals.
The government took the opportunity, when the program that was under way was put on hold for the period of the assessment, to relook at the design and its efficacy and also to go to those organisations and ask: ‘Is there some other way that you would see of contributing not just to ongoing recurrent costs by servicing such a facility, but also the capital?’ I was very pleased that we got 3 letters back from the companies we went to. The 3 expressions of interest we sought all came back. All of them showed a continuing enthusiasm about Alice Springs and their capacity to contribute. However, none of them at that stage were keen to put any capital money forward, which is what we were seeking.
Recently, Cabinet has decided that we will reinstate the works program. That will be done forthwith. We will be cognisant of the innovative suggestions that have been made by some of the proponents, and we will be building a private wing at the Alice Springs Hospital. We are confident that in doing so we can get around the issue of some of the companies being wary about risking capital costs. In building it, I am sure there will be ample scope for us to look at providers somewhere along the line. But the important message for people of Alice Springs is that the works program is again under way. Tens of millions of dollars worth of renovation is taking place at Alice Springs Hospital, and it will incorporate a private wing when it is completed.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, Alice Springs is indeed well serviced in having a local member like Dr Lim, who has been very vigorous in his pursuit of this matter. He is aware that it has been a dream of the people of Alice Springs to have a private facility that they could attend if their insurance allowed them to do that.
Members would be aware that some years ago this government embarked on an extensive program costing some tens of millions of dollars to renovate Alice Springs Hospital and bring it up to a facility that would see them through the next half-century. That master plan was well under way and we had a couple of stages being built when we moved to investigate expressions of interest by private providers to look at the total management of our Territory hospitals.
The government took the opportunity, when the program that was under way was put on hold for the period of the assessment, to relook at the design and its efficacy and also to go to those organisations and ask: ‘Is there some other way that you would see of contributing not just to ongoing recurrent costs by servicing such a facility, but also the capital?’ I was very pleased that we got 3 letters back from the companies we went to. The 3 expressions of interest we sought all came back. All of them showed a continuing enthusiasm about Alice Springs and their capacity to contribute. However, none of them at that stage were keen to put any capital money forward, which is what we were seeking.
Recently, Cabinet has decided that we will reinstate the works program. That will be done forthwith. We will be cognisant of the innovative suggestions that have been made by some of the proponents, and we will be building a private wing at the Alice Springs Hospital. We are confident that in doing so we can get around the issue of some of the companies being wary about risking capital costs. In building it, I am sure there will be ample scope for us to look at providers somewhere along the line. But the important message for people of Alice Springs is that the works program is again under way. Tens of millions of dollars worth of renovation is taking place at Alice Springs Hospital, and it will incorporate a private wing when it is completed.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016