There are two sides to Goulburn Valley Health.
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One, with state-of-the-art facilities, and the other, ageing and no longer fit-for-purpose.
Walking down the halls of GV Health, it’s hard not to notice the discrepancies.
Only the first stage of the hospital’s redevelopment is complete.
Funding is needed to finish the redevelopment, to bring the hospital in line with major Victorian regional hospitals.
As part of Greater Shepparton City Council’s Australian Government Priorities 2025/26, the GV Health redevelopment is a top priority.
“As our region grows, so too does the demand on critical services, including healthcare,” City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali said.
“Greater Shepparton residents deserve access to health services that are fit-for-purpose and can cope with this increasing demand.”
In 2021, a new masterplan for GV Health’s Shepparton hospital was developed, after significant portions were considered no longer fit-for-purpose.
Stage one works began in 2018.
In March 2023, Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas visited Shepparton to tour the “final stage” of the GV Health redevelopment.
The News article from the event said the Victorian Government “has no further plans to fund stage two”.
Stage one was completed in 2024.
Stage one of the GV Health redevelopment
The Victorian Government invested $229.3 million, delivering:
- 64 inpatient beds
- 10 intensive care beds
- seven operating theatres
- an emergency department with 44 treatment points
- refurbishment of the nine-bed short-stay department
- a 12-bed maternity department
- a 10-cot special care nursery
- a 12-bed paediatric ward
- a new dialysis unit with 16 treatment chairs
- two new X-ray rooms
- a CT scan room
- an ultrasound room
- a new kitchen
- a purpose-built morgue
Council is calling on a new funding commitment to finish the redevelopment to close the gaps in care.
This includes:
- Integrated cancer centre
- Regional pathology hub
- More inpatient beds
Council is also pushing to keep more health professionals in the region, proposing an Institute of Applied Health Learning.
“In 2021, the masterplan for Shepparton hospital was refreshed, as stage one of the redevelopment was well advanced,” GV Health chief executive Matt Sharp said.
“In the meantime, we are progressing priorities such as the Integrated Cancer Centre, but we know around 50 per cent of the masterplan is still to be delivered.
“Securing our workforce over the long-term is another major challenge, and research tells us in that if we train our workforce locally, they are more likely to stay and be a part of our community, supporting the healthcare services we all rely on.”
Regional Pathology Hub
A new pathology laboratory would increase the regional capability for pathology services in line with region-wide service planning. This will reduce wait times for patients, while also enabling delivery of subsequent components of the masterplan.
More Inpatient Beds
New inpatient wards and buildings are needed to meet the growing demand, replace outdated ward infrastructure such as four-bed patient rooms, and ease pressure on existing wards.
Other masterplan elements to be completed include a new multi-deck car park, a cardiac catheterisation laboratory, expanded MRI capacity and a helipad.
The delivery of the Integrated Cancer Centre will greatly impact the patients seeking cancer care at GV Health.
GV Health is the only Regional Public Health Service in Victoria that doesn’t have an Integrated Cancer Centre.
Current services are limited in care and treatment spaces, including chemotherapy and haematology, inadequate wellness services and an insufficient number of consulting rooms.
The limited scope means patients are often required to travel long distances for appropriate care.
While the initial stage of the centre has been funded, this would only expand the capacity of existing services, leaving a growing gap in care.
A more-than $90 million investment would deliver the new centre constructed on-site at Shepparton hospital.
This is one of the most important facilities to still be delivered as part of the full redevelopment masterplan.
“While completing the full GV Health redevelopment is necessary to address critical gaps in the availability of care and treatment facilities, so too is the establishment of the Goulburn Valley Institute of Applied Learning,” Cr Sali said.
“This will ensure we have a skilled workforce to support these enhanced facilities and services.”
At council’s launch event for its election priorities, Mr Sharp said there was a shortage of 125 nurses and allied health professionals within GV Health.
“Securing a skilled workforce had indeed been a significant undertaking for us, and that comes on the back of us having a vacancy rate as high as 20 per cent in recent times,” he said.
“Pleasingly, we’ve done some good work over the course of the last six to eight months to reduce that to around 10 per cent.
“Our projections in terms of the next 10 years say that we’re going to continue to have shortages, and that’s going to be in the order of around 200 nurses and 100 allied health staff, unless something changes.”
The $30-$40 million investment aims to deliver practical, future-focused training for nursing and allied health students and clinicians, within the Shepparton hospital campus.
It will host modern, tech-enabled learning environments, serving as a hub for research, and pilot innovative healthcare solutions tailored to the needs of rural communities, with care delivered closer to home.
“The Goulburn Valley Institute of Applied Health Learning would be a state-of-the-art facility for rural nursing and allied health education, offering undergraduate courses, post-graduate qualifications, micro-credentialing and professional development,” Mr Sharp said.
“A detailed business plan shows the project would deliver significant economic benefits, and we've completed concept designs as part of a health education precinct around Shepparton hospital.
“A funding commitment is the next step to bring this vital project to life for the benefit of our community.”
Journalist