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Canberra Today 18°/22° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Inquiry: Hospital expansion concerns are ‘reasonable’ 

Standing committee chairperson Caroline Le Couteur

FOLLOWING an inquiry into Canberra Hospital’s controversial expansion, a report was tabled in the Legislative Assembly today (August 20) that made 26 recommendations, some of which are critical of inadequate consultation, governance measures and inconsistent messaging.

The assembly’s standing committee on Planning and Urban Renewal tabled the report, titled “Planning for the Surgical Procedures, Interventional Radiology and Emergency Centre (SPIRE) and the Canberra Hospital campus and immediate surrounds (SPIRE Inquiry)”, and its chair, Caroline Le Couteur said: “Concerns include the development progressing in the absence of a precinct master plan; increased traffic, reduced access to parking and public transport, pedestrian and student safety, inadequate disability accessibility, increased noise levels, the functional capacity of the proposed facilities and the overt lack of consultation and engagement.”

“It was evident to the committee that this community angst lead to the petition that lead to this inquiry,” she said.

“Whilst many have had elements of controversy, the recent SPIRE proposal and its unexpected location met significant opposition from the local community.”

When tabling the report, the committee noted that the new name of the project – the Canberra Hospital expansion – the inquiry was focused on the phases of the project conducted under the SPIRE moniker.

“The inquiry clearly identified that there is an urgent need for additional medical facilities in Canberra; however also identified that the local community, clinicians and health care consumers have very reasonable concerns about the project,” Ms Le Couteur said.

“However, the recommendations are also constructed with the aim of not only improving the project as it moves through the design and construction phases, but all future health projects in the ACT.”

The unfortunate timing of the inquiry (at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but before the ACT Legislative Assembly had fully transitioned to new arrangements), meant that the committee had limited opportunities for questioning witnesses, including the government, as part of the inquiry.

“Consequently it relied heavily on the content of community, government and NGO submissions; FOI documentation and other reports,” Ms Le Couteur said.

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Ian Meikle, editor

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