Thursday, 6 February 2025

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (09:51): No matter where you travel in Melbourne’s west you can see the major investment that the Allan Labor government is making to our health and hospital system. Recently I had the pleasure of visiting the site of the new, massive Footscray Hospital. It is like a city, one of the biggest health infrastructure projects in Victoria’s history. The new hospital will provide additional capacity for our growing community, with an increase of nearly 200 beds. It will treat approximately 15,000 additional patients and enable around 20,000 more people to be seen by the emergency department each year. This massive investment continues in Melton, where Labor is getting on with building the new Melton hospital. The first all-electric hospital will have the capacity to treat 130,000 patients each year and will host a range of services, including maternity and mental health services. In Werribee we are expanding the emergency department at the Werribee Mercy. Once complete, the emergency department will allow the treatment of an extra 25,000 patients each year, and that is double the current capacity. These upgrades will provide much-needed support to our growing communities and get families the care they need closer to home. The Allan Labor government is getting on and delivering these important projects in our community in Melbourne’s west.