Constituency questions
Northern Metropolitan Region
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:50): (1988) My constituency question is for the Minister for Health and relates to a new northern hospital. The Northern Hospital has only 400 beds. It has the busiest emergency department in the state, treating approximately 100 000 patients each year. The Northern Health catchment includes three of the state’s six largest growth areas—Hume, Whittlesea and Mitchell. The swift development of new suburbs in the north will see our population grow by 17 per cent, or 85 000 people, in the next five years alone and over 50 per cent by 2036. The Northern Metropolitan Region needs more than an expanded Northern Hospital. It needs a new hospital to meet demand. So I ask: what steps has the minister taken in considering the development of a whole new hospital for Melbourne’s northern growth suburbs?