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Gunnedah mayor Jamie Chaffey says the New South Wales government has broken a key election promise by scaling back a major hospital upgrade in the state's north.
Key points:
- The state government has been accused for breaking a key election promise
- Jamie Chaffey says he is devastated to see plans scaled back on the redevelopment of the Gunnedah hospital
- The state government says the cutbacks come after a rise in building costs
Gunnedah Shire councillors were briefed about the $53 million project by New South Wales Health this week.
Cr Chaffey said it was devastating to see plans had been scaled back.
"[It] actually looks like about a third of the construction that was originally promised would take place," he said.
"There will be no renal services, there will be no chemotherapy ... and the news is just absolutely devastating.
"This is a broken promise from a Labor government 107 days into power."
He said the council was given bipartisan support for the redevelopment in the lead up to the state election.
"No matter what happened, if there was a change of government we would still see this hospital redevelopment happen," he said.
"We did that, we got the bipartisan commitment from every candidate.
"To have our worst fears come to light after the energy [and] the effort that's been put in is just unbelievable, it's devastating."
Kate Deaves said she had lived in the Gunnedah area for more than 60 years.
She said there was an obvious need for specialised care in the area.
"Chemotherapy and palliative care are the ones that I think should've stayed, because if you go across to Tamworth that's where all our locals are," Ms Deaves said.
"I have lost family through cancer, I have friends with cancer and that's just another burden they have to carry, with the travelling.
"It's not funny but they were calling us Gunne-die, not Gunnedah."
Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson said the state government would have known if a budget blow out was going to affect plans to redevelop the hospital.
"If there was going to be a cost increase they would have been informed," he said.
"So they should have committed to the full funding of the master plan as it stands today, and they should commit to that and fund it as they said they would."
A Health Infrastructure spokesperson said there had been no change to the funding, rather that the escalation of building costs had resulted in an updated design that would prioritise areas of clinical need.
In a statement, a spokesperson for NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the government was committed to the hospital's re-development and there had been no cut in the funding allocated towards the project.
"The NSW government is committed to making sure people living in regional NSW have equitable access to expert medical care and health services," they said.
They said consultations with staff, patients and the community would continue.