It can either continue with the rebuild on the current location or go back to the future with a purpose built hospital at a new location.

Both are immense projects in terms of cost and scale and it is crucial to get the decision right.

There is no doubt that the rebuild of the Royal Hobart Hospital at its current site has been a shambles.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson inherited a mess from the previous government and has the unenviable task of sorting it out.

In 2006, the former Labor government announced plans to build a new hospital at Macquarie Point.

After spending $10 million on planning, that idea was shelved three years later because of the escalating cost.

In 2010, the decision to rebuild the Royal was made but in the years since, significant planning and governance problems have emerged.

In January, Auditor-General Mike Blake found the $586 million redevelopment had been impacted by poor governance.

The public was assured by then Health Minister Michelle O'Byrne that the Health Department was addressing the concerns, only to learn after the election that the project was more than a year behind schedule and tens of millions of dollars over budget.

After winning government, the Liberals announced a $1 million taskforce to review the rebuild.

The taskforce submitted its report and an announcement on the hospital's future is expected this week.

The government must get beyond blaming the previous mob and deliver a solution.

A modern, functioning and effective Royal Hobart Hospital is not just a necessity for Southern Tasmania.

As the largest hospital in the state, it specialises in areas of treatment that benefits all Tasmanians.

And at $2.4 billion for a new hospital or several hundred million dollars to continue the rebuild, it is the biggest state project ever to be undertaken.