The long-awaited Cranbourne Community Hospital will officially open in October, but concerns about parking pressures have remained.
At the September Casey Council Meeting, officers reported that “an overall under-provision of parking at the hospital is expected to impact staff and users of the adjacent Casey Complex”.
As a result, Casey Council will undertake a review of the car parking restrictions across the neighbouring Casey Complex precinct and will start to roll out changes to car parking in consultation with the user groups across the complex site.
According to the Council’s report, with changes to the hospital’s hours and expanded days of operation, demand for spaces is expected to exceed earlier forecasts.
With approximately 300 car spaces on-site, there is a potential shortfall of parking spaces between 50 and 145 during the operating hours of 6am to 8pm from Monday to Saturday.
The carparking shortage has not been a new topic. Star News first reported the concern in late August 2024.
A new variance this time is that Casey Council claimed that they had been advised that Monash Health, the hospital’s operator, will charge staff for car parking (approximately 200 spaces) after the initial free phase, subject to consultation with the Council.
“Given the availability of paid Monash staff car parking on the hospital’s site in the future, there is a possibility that hospital staff may choose to park on Council’s land to avoid the parking fees,” the officer report states.
“With longer opening hours than previously anticipated, this impact will be further compounded, particularly as shift changes occur with hospital staff.”
Councillor Michelle Crowther even urged Monash Health to review and reverse this decision to “really think about our local community’s needs”, given the existing carparking pressures at the Casey Complex.
However, when Star News contacted Monash Health, their spokesperson said they decided not to move on to the paid car parking model.
“In our conversations with the council and local community, it became clear that a different approach to parking would be needed at Cranbourne Community Hospital,” they said.
“As a result, we have decided to make parking at the hospital free for patients, visitors and staff. Moving away from a paid parking model will mean parking is free at the hospital as well as at adjacent community car parks.
“We have also decided to make one of the hospital car parks available for public use outside the hospital’s operating hours. We anticipate this will benefit community members accessing the recreational facilities and library in the broader Casey Complex.
“Our teams are looking forward with excitement to welcoming the first patients to Cranbourne Community Hospital in October.”
Several months ago, Star News reported that the State Government was met with criticism for a lack of clarity on when the hospital would open, as the main works of the construction had already finished late last year.
At the September Casey Council Meeting, Cr Gary Rowe brought up the criticism again, saying that the whole situation just made him “angry”.
“The hospital itself was prepared to open some time ago, and we as councillors did a visit to the hospital, and they were all very excited about the potential of the hospital,” he said.
“They also were mindful of the fact that they didn’t want to open unless they were guaranteed payment. And I think that is a big thing. Why could a state government make a decision to build a hospital, to get it to a point, and then, for five months, not open it? There’s a big problem there.
“It needs to be looked at, and it should have been addressed.
“The chaos that the car parking causes at Cranbourne… It’s just impossible sometimes.”
The new community hospital at 65 Berwick-Cranbourne Road in Cranbourne East was first proposed in 2018 as an election promise to help take pressure off nearby major hospitals, including Casey Hospital, and enable more people to manage their health needs closer to home.
Managed by Monash Health, the Cranbourne Community Hospital will be an expansion of services currently offered at the Cranbourne Integrated Care Centre on a new site.
It is expected to offer a range of everyday health services, such as day surgery, dialysis, dental, allied health and mental health.
