Nationals leader Peter Ryan made the pledge yesterday, promising to secure a short–stay unit for the hospital’s emergency department, as well as an additional fourth birthing suite to be built in the maternity ward.

If elected to power at the polls on November 27, Mr Ryan said further urgent upgrades would be provided to the “all-important” mental health unit.

“The problem has been that the physical location of the hospital, and more particularly the environment that it now is in, is simply not appropriate for the service it is being asked to provide,” he said.

“Mildura Hospital currently has 14 beds in its emergency department, which is well short of its required 33 beds based on the one bed per 1000 patient admissions per year rule.”

Mr Ryan said the government’s announcement of $2 million for hospital upgrades in August only provided a “limited benefit” and he challenged Premier John Brumby to match their commitment.

“At the moment the facilities simply do not have the capacity to be able to provide for this very, very important element (emergency department) of the hospital’s services,” he said.

“Over the succeeding years, more needs have grown than the hospital has been able to provide from its relatively limited space.

“Here at Mildura, which is a growing community, we need to make sure we keep up with, and indeed ahead of the times.”

For more of this story, purchase your copy of Wednesday’s Sunraysia Daily 08/09/2010.