Launceston General Hospital masterplan finalised, released to public

Much of what the draft anticipated - a mental health services precinct, a new Northside tower and the capacity for a co-located private hospital - remained unchanged.

READ MORE: More casual contacts of COVID-19 case identified

Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the plan set out the "future vision and direction for the LGH precinct".

"It includes some exciting new developments that will deliver significant benefits to the community and support the delivery of contemporary care," he said.

Mr Rockliff said feedback to help finalise the plan was given by the community, staff, partner organisations and other key stakeholders.

Overall, changes from the draft remained minimal and, as expected, the big ticket items remained prominent in the plan.

A number, nine, was put on the initial installation of facilities to treat contagious diseases like COVID, and it was revealed the hospitals ambulance drop off bays would be enclosed.

Between the draft being released and the finalised master plan, an unsolicited bid for a co-located private hospital from Calvary Health Care had been submitted and a memorandum of understanding signed between the state government and the health care provider.

Upon the release of the finalised plan, Calvary had not yet confirmed the clinical services they were due to deliver from a co-located site, according to the masterplan.

Looming rejuvenation of the hospital was first signalled as a 2018 state election commitment, with a draft initially proposed to be released at the end of 2019. Like many plans, the COVID pandemic, derailed the draft and it was delayed.

When the draft plan was eventually released in May, Mr Rockliff said he expected the mental health precinct, set to occupy the space where the Anne O'Byrne centre currently sits, would be "up and running and completed by 2027".

The refurbishment of ward 3D, a space for older patients with "complex behavioural needs" like dementia and delirium was slated to add additional inpatient capacity.

The masterplan was set to cost the government $580 million, and would be delivered over 10 years.

While much of the finalised plan remained the same, proposed changes to the ward 3D refurbishment had slipped from stage one of the draft, to "address service priorities" of the final plan.

The order of the service priorities remained not yet determined and were due to be part of a "detailed staging plan for implementation of the masterplan".

The staging plan would consider "service needs and priorities, funding, opportunities arising from a co-located private hospital" and several other points. The 3D refurbishment remained as a "concept" in the update plan.

The finalised masterplan said ward 3D "currently accommodated a temporary inpatient ward to support the Tasmanian government's commitment to increase elective surgery".

Nine of the 15 major proposals of the masterplan remained in the concept stage while two were being scoped and four were in the construction phase.

Are you happy with the LGH masterplan? Send us a letter to the editor and let us know: