![LGH kitchen to be relocated, but no plans to privatise: Barnett LGH kitchen to be relocated, but no plans to privatise: Barnett](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/177158793/29fb9d06-ff4b-4315-83c4-cb55e5d0c11c.jpg/r0_316_6016_3700_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Health Department is exploring options to relocate the Launceston General Hospital's kitchen to an offsite area, but it not planning to outsource meals to a private provider, Health Minister Guy Barnett said.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
"I can confirm we will not be privatising kitchen services at the LGH," Mr Barnett said.
His statement was in response to a question from Labor Clark MHA Ella Haddad, who asked whether the LGH kitchen would be relocated offsite and privatised.
"Can you confirm you plan to relocate kitchen and food services away from the Launceston General Hospital and to privatise parts of the service's operations?" she asked during Question Time on June 11.
"Do you plan to deal with your budget crisis by outsourcing pubic sector jobs?"
Mr Barnett initially failed to answer the question of whether kitchen services would be privatised, but confirmed plans to move the facility offsite.
"Yes, they will be moving outside of the Launceston General Hospital precinct to elsewhere to provide more opportunities for health services to be provided," he said.
![Health Minister Guy Barnett on a visit to the LGH recently. File picture Health Minister Guy Barnett on a visit to the LGH recently. File picture](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/177158793/390317fc-b08d-4906-8ab9-3f275be1f915.jpg/r0_0_5392_3592_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We will always do everything that we can to maximise efficiencies in terms of getting improvements in our health care services delivered."
He said the LGH Precinct Master Plan had proposed the relocation of the kitchen to an offsite location to free up space for expansion of critical non-clinical services.
"The department is undertaking a review of the kitchen facilities and its functions to determine what options exist to achieve this," Mr Barnett said.
"Relocation of the LGH kitchen will allow back-of-house services such as waste holding and linen facilities to expand to meet the forecast demand at the site whilst limiting impact on clinical service delivery."
The smaller kitchen on level one will remain to service the hospital cafe and provide limited onsite services, he said.
"The use of off-site kitchens to service health facilities is not uncommon at modern hospitals and is the model currently used in the Royal Hobart Hospital, where the production kitchen is successfully staffed by Department of Health personnel," Mr Barnett said.