The Andrews Labor Government is building a world-class health centre for Ararat families, with work now underway on the new one-stop shop health and community services hub at the Ararat Hospital.
Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Health Jill Hennessy today toured construction works on the community health project, made possible by the Labor Government’s $200 million Regional Health Infrastructure Fund.
The $4.1 million centre will bring a range of vital health and community services together under the one roof, ensuring patients can access the treatment and services they need, closer to home.
The project will grow Ararat’s current community health centre building, with new consulting rooms for maternal and child health nurses, more community meeting rooms and a bigger toy library. An expanded waiting area, a new reception and a new front entry is also planned.
The $200 million fund – the largest of its kind in Victorian history – is rebuilding rural and regional health services to ensure all Victorians can access the high-quality care and facilities they need, no matter where they live.
Mr Andrews and Ms Hennessy also met with local paramedics to thank them for the hard work they do protecting local families and saving lives.
The Labor Government is repairing Victoria’s ambulance system after years of neglect by the Liberal Nationals, who went to war with our paramedics.
Last year, the Labor Government announced a new peak period unit for Ararat with seven full-time equivalent paramedics and a new ambulance vehicle.
We’re also upgrading the existing branch in Ararat, giving paramedics the modern and safer facilities they deserve and room to grow.
This investment is part of our $500 million plan to improve ambulance response times, employ more paramedics, buy new vehicles and build more stations across Victoria where they’re needed most.
In the Rural City of Ararat, the latest performance data shows the average time an ambulance is taking to reach the scene of a Code 1 emergency has improved to 16.09 minutes – quicker than the 18.31 minutes a year prior, and much faster than when the Liberal Nationals were last in Government.
Quotes attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews
“We promised to build a world-class community health centre for Ararat and we’re getting it done. This will mean better, faster care all under the one roof.”
“We’re so proud of the work our paramedics do. We’ve given Ararat paramedics the tools and the resources they need to do what they do best – save lives and protect Ararat families when emergency strikes.”
Quote attributable to Minister for Health Jill Hennessy
“This one-stop-shop for community health services is great news for local families and our hard-working health professionals.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020