Community hospitals are small public hospitals offering a range of health services tailored for each community. With extended hours to provide day and after-hours services, community hospitals will provide a range of everyday health services, which may include:

• urgent care service for common minor injuries and illnesses
• day medical services such as chemotherapy and renal dialysis
• day surgery for procedures such as cataract removal, major dental work, gynaecological procedures, colonoscopies and other minor surgical procedures that do not require an overnight stay
• treatment and support for chronic health issues including mental health, alcohol and other drugs, pain management, diabetes and respiratory problems
• family services including child and maternal health, family safety and women’s health
• pathology, pharmacy and diagnostic imaging such as blood tests and x‑rays
• public dental services.

Located in growing communities across Victoria, community hospitals give people better access to many important everyday health services closer to home.

The Community hospitals program will be delivered through a combination of upgrades and expansions to existing sites and new developments at new sites.

New developments at new sites:

• Eltham area – to be managed by Austin Health
• Emerald Hill – to be managed by Alfred Health
• Point Cook – to be managed by Western Health
• City of Whittlesea – to be managed by Northern Health

Upgrade or expansion at existing site:

• Craigieburn – to be managed by Northern Health
• Phillip Island – to be managed by Bass Coast Health
• Sunbury – to be managed by Western Health

Relocation and expansion of services at a new site:

• Cranbourne – to be managed by Monash Health
• Pakenham – to be managed by Monash Health
• Torquay – to be managed by Barwon Health

The Community hospitals program will deliver the following benefits:

Better services closer to home

The Victorian Government is investing $675 million to develop 10 community hospitals in major growth areas across Victoria. These facilities will provide more locally available public healthcare options and better access to important everyday health services close to home.

Services will be tailored to each community and may include urgent care services, day surgery for minor procedures, public dental and specialist appointments.

Stronger links to specialist care

Community hospitals will also help keep local communities healthy by providing links to other local healthcare providers including GPs, allied health services, specialists, social services and major hospitals if more complex care is required.

Reduce pressure on major hospitals

Community hospitals will also reduce pressure on major public hospitals and emergency departments. This will assist major hospitals to focus on critical care, complex health issues and surgeries, emergencies and trauma while our community hospitals support locals to manage their everyday health needs and access community services.

Meeting increased demand

As Victoria’s population grows and healthcare needs change, community hospitals will help meet increasing demand for public health services in major Victorian growth areas.

Once complete, the ten community hospitals will have the capacity to treat at least 114,000 more urgent care patients each year. They’ll support 55,000 dialysis treatments and enable more than 100,000 additional allied health sessions each year.

These facilities will be located in Cranbourne, Craigieburn, Eltham area, Emerald Hill, Pakenham, Phillip Island, Point Cook, Sunbury, Torquay and City of Whittlesea.

We value community and stakeholder input and are committed to keeping the public informed on the Community hospitals program.

We work closely with key stakeholders across the health sector and local government. We aim to deliver functional and efficient health facilities that are fit-for-purpose, inclusive and that meet community needs.

Our engagement program includes:

• user groups
• working groups
• surveys
• workshops
• tailored engagement with identified key groups, including people with lived experience, Traditional Owners groups and culturally diverse communities.

We’ve established community consultative committees (CCC) to ensure the views and aspirations of the community are considered in the planning and design for each community hospital. Committees are made up of a diverse cross-section of community members, local service providers and organisations who provide a local perspective and considered advice on a range of issues relating to the project.

Our engagement reports provide a summary of the community’s feedback and key priorities at each phase of the project.

View our community engagement report on the service planning phase.

We are in the process of collecting community feedback and input on the design for each community hospital and will share community consultation reports soon.

To stay up-to-date with the program, sign up to our Community Hospital newsletter.

Community consultative committees have been established to provide a forum for members of each local community to participate in the planning and development of their community hospital through open dialogue and consultation.

Each consultative committee includes:

• foundation members from key organisations such as local councils, health service providers and Aboriginal representation where possible
• community members selected through an independent expression of interest process and a limited number of invited community members.

The committee selection approach considered a mix of age, gender and other demographic characteristics as well as a cross-section of interests and community perspectives to ensure diverse representation on each community consultative committee.

Committee meetings

Each community consultative committee will be brought together at key points during the project’s development to ensure local views are considered.

Summaries of the meetings held so far can be found on the Community Hospitals community consultative committee meeting summaries page.

Please direct project enquiries and feedback to communityhospitals@health.vic.gov.au.