Australia's first dedicated heart hospital is set to open in Melbourne, sparking a fresh war of words eight years after it triggered an election spending spree.
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Premier Daniel Andrews and Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas toured the new 206-bed Victorian Heart Hospital in Clayton on Sunday ahead of its first patients arriving on Thursday.
The $577 million facility will be able to cater for up to 2150 cardiac surgeries, 28,300 emergency presentations and 108,000 consultations a year.
It will also provide telehealth services to reduce the need for country Victorians to travel for specialist appointments, and be used to train more than 300 undergraduate, 260 postgraduate and 20 PhD students each year.
Both the coalition and Labor promised to build a dedicated heart hospital near the Monash Medical Centre if victorious at the 2014 Victorian election.
Labor was ultimately returned to power after one term in opposition.
Mr Andrews initially said the hospital would open by 2018 and cost up to $300 million, with Labor committing $150m to get the project off the ground.
Early works for the stand-alone hospital began in July 2019 and major construction was completed late last year.
Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the hospital was five years late and $424 million over budget.
"This was promised years ago by Daniel Andrews and he's failed to deliver it," she said.
But the premier argued the project's scope had expanded over the years, altering the total cost and timeline for its construction.
"This is not a cost," Mr Andrews told reporters.
"It's a profound investment in the best clinical outcomes, the best research, the best treatment and of course training up those dedicated staff that we'll need for many decades to come."
Coronary heart disease is Australia's number one killer, accounting for 16,600 deaths in 2020.
Patient Tony Kinman is still recovering after having a heart attack last year and undergoing a triple bypass in October.
He wasn't able to be rehabilitated entirely at the Monash campus.
"It would certainly be an advantage to have rehab here," Mr Kinman said.
"The integration component across the hospitals is clearly where all the advantages will come. As a patient you can see how that will work from nursing through to other ancillary services at the hospital."
The heart hospital's imminent opening came after government tender documents, published by The Age, revealed Melton Hospital will need to double bed numbers within years of its scheduled opening in 2029 to meet projected demand.
Mr Andrews said hospital projects were often built with "soft walls" to allow for future expansion, with the City of Melton's population forecast to skyrocket from about 210,000 in 2023 to 315,000 by 2036.
Australian Associated Press
