Ms Thomas was given a tour of the new facilities, which opened last October, and met with staff at the hospital in Shepparton on Thursday, March 16.
She thanked staff members while touring the facility, and again when addressing media following the tour, for their work keeping people safe and healthy.
She said the $230 million redevelopment increased capacity to 44 treatment spaces and nine short-stay beds, with a five-storey inpatient tower featuring 64 inpatient beds and four new operating theatres.
A 16-chair dialysis unit, 12-bed maternity unit and birthing suite are among the additions as part of the redevelopment.
A $25 million early parenting centre will also be built in Shepparton, with Ms Thomas saying the health investment across the state totalled $158 billion since Labor came to power in 2014.
“This major redevelopment and expansion are about making sure people in Shepparton and across the Goulburn Valley have the best access to possible care, close to home,” she said.
“Locals can get the care they need, close to home — no matter their condition or age.
“I want to acknowledge that as great as all of these buildings are, it’s the staff here at Goulburn Valley Health who deliver care, and I’ve had the opportunity today to meet doctors, nurses, pharmacists and those ward clerks, everyone that is part of delivering the very best care to the people of Shepparton and surrounds.”
The redevelopment was slated to be stage one of a two-part redevelopment, but Ms Thomas dodged the question of whether there would be funding made available for stage two.
GV Health chief executive Matt Sharp said he was “really grateful” the minister came to Shepparton to look around the department.
“It’s been really terrific now to have that opened and effectively doubled from when redevelopment began, we’re grateful for the support from the Victorian Government to fund the project but then the flexibility and adaptability since the project began to get to this point,” he said.
“The terrific thing about the redevelopment now in the emergency department is it’s now a purpose-build contemporary space to care for patients.
“It allows us to provide an overall model of care with some parts of that that are particular in relation to where we really need to care for patients that are most critically ill.”
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