An injection of cash into the Werribee Mercy Hospital could save the Catherine McAuley Centre.
The state government announced on Monday that Mercy Health, which manages Werribee hospital and the Mercy Hospital for Women, will receive an extra $16.05 million this financial year.
Star Weekly has revealed that the hospital’s new $40 million sub-acute building, the Catherine McAuley Centre, was under threat just months after it opened.
However, Health Minister David Davis said this week Mercy Health would get $247.3 million in 2014-15. “Since the federal budget was delivered, we have been working with the Commonwealth to determine what the final outcome will be for Victorian health services,” Mr Davis said.
“I have said Victoria will be fighting for every dollar it’s entitled to, and this outcome is pleasing.”
Mercy Health executive director Linda Mellors welcomed the extra cash.
“We are pleased that we have an arrangement that allows us to continue to provide the necessary services for the communities of both hospitals,” Dr Mellors said.
Mercy Health is working on allocating the money and is unable to provide the specific funding for each hospital.
“However, we are confident we can continue to provide all current services while growing some services … including the new state-of-the-art Catherine McAuley Centre,” Dr Mellors added.
