Voters appear unlikely to know whether the Hunter’s new hospital will be funded by a public-private partnership before they go to the polls.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Premier Mike Baird on Tuesday refused to commit to announcing the funding model for the Lower Hunter hospital at Metford before next month’s election.
He told reporters in Lovedale that the government was still working on the funding model. But he would not say whether the final model would be announced before the March 28 election.
“What is clear is that we need a world-class hospital in Maitland,” he said. “Whatever model is chosen will include a public hospital that will be for the benefit of the people of Maitland.”
While the government has promised the Lower Hunter hospital would be a public facility, it has not ruled out the possibility of using a public-private partnership to fund it.
Mr Baird referred to comments from the opposition and a recent union advertisement that implied the government would make the NSW health care system more like that of the US, where care was much more expensive, as a scare campaign.
“The model is being worked on, but what is not negotiable is the delivery of a public hospital in Maitland,” he said.
