Community hospitals program

With extended and after-hours services, community hospitals are small public hospitals offering a range of health services tailored for each community.

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.

The program will support:

• new developments in Mernda and Point Cook
• relocation and expansion of existing health services on a new site at Cranbourne and Pakenham
• upgrades or expansion of existing health services at Craigieburn, Phillip Island, and Sunbury.

The Community hospitals program will deliver the following benefits:

Better services closer to home

The Victorian Government is investing more than $800 million to develop 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 new 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, Pakenham, Phillip Island, Point Cook, Sunbury, and the 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.

What is a community hospital?

Community hospitals are small public hospitals. With extended hours to provide day and after-hours services, community hospitals 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.

What is the Community Hospitals Program delivering?

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.

The community hospitals will be located in Cranbourne, Craigieburn, Mernda, Pakenham, Phillip Island, Point Cook and Sunbury.

Community hospitals are small public hospitals, typically 1-3 storeys high. They will provide a range of everyday health services for people who are not critically unwell.

The Community Hospitals Program will be delivered through a combination of new developments at new sites and upgrades and expansions to existing sites, as follows:

• new developments in Mernda and Point Cook
• relocation and expansion of existing health services on a new site at Cranbourne and Pakenham
• upgrades or expansion of existing health services at Craigieburn, Phillip Island, and Sunbury.

Will the new community hospitals be open 24/7 and will there be overnight beds?

The new community hospitals will operate extended business hours. They will not operate 24 hours 7 days a week and it will not accommodate overnight stays. They will provide urgent care services for people experiencing non-emergency medical issues such as the bumps, cuts and bruises associated with everyday life.

Will the new community hospitals have an emergency department?

No. People will be able to attend community hospitals for minor bumps and bruises and non-emergency care. People experiencing a medical emergency should visit their nearest emergency department.

Who can access the services provided by community hospitals?

Community hospitals are accessible to all people eligible for public healthcare.

I would like to work at a community hospital. How will recruitment be managed?

Future employment opportunities / recruitment will be managed by health services closer to commissioning, as follows:

• The Mernda Community Hospital (formerly the City of Whittlesea Community Hospital) and Craigieburn Community Hospital will be managed by Northern Health
• The Cranbourne Community Hospital and Pakenham Community Hospital will be managed by Monash Health
• The Point Cook Community Hospital and Sunbury Community Hospital will be managed by Western Health
• The Phillip Island Community Hospital will be managed by Bass Coast Health.