Almost eight months after its major construction, Cranbourne Community Hospital is still sitting unopened with no official opening date.
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, chemotherapy, dental, allied health and mental health.
According to the Victorian Health Building, the main works of the construction finished late last year.
When inquired, a Department of Health Spokesperson said the State Budget 2025/26 invested $634 million to open and operationalise nine new or expanded hospitals across our state, and this includes the new Cranbourne Community Hospital.
“Work is now underway to open the hospital, with final testing, equipment installation and training taking place,” they said.
The Department shared that moving into a new or upgraded hospital is a complex process that takes time and careful planning.
Though no official date was shared by the Department, Premier Jacinta Allan announced on her Facebook on 11 July, saying the hospital is set to open “later this year”, after she toured the site with Cranbourne MP Pauline Richards.
Vice president of Casey Residents & Ratepayers Association (CRRA) Anthony Tassone said residents had been kept in the dark as to when the Cranbourne Community Hospital would open.
“There’s been a lack of detail from the State Government on when we can expect it to be open to the public and providing care,” he said.
“The external building looks to have been finished for months, but it’s a case of ‘the lights are on but nobody is home’, as it’s still not open to patients.
“The Cranbourne and surrounding community have felt like we’ve been playing catch-up with development in infrastructure, transport and health services for too long.
“It really isn’t too much to ask, by residents who fund these services through their taxes, that we are kept informed of when it will actually open.”
Mr Tassone said the location of the hospital and associated parking for it had prompted moves to relocate the Cranbourne community hub by the City of Casey to Lyall St in central Cranbourne.
“Residents have expressed concern about the challenges already faced with car parking in Cranbourne even before the hub is built there,” he said.
Star News reported in late August last year that the soon-to-open Cranbourne Community Hospital was facing concerns over a significant parking shortfall, with a planned minimum of 300 on-site spaces expected to fall well below future demand, particularly if Monash Health introduces paid parking.
Shadow Minister for Health Georgie Crozier said: “How can a hospital still be sitting empty eight months after construction has supposedly finished?
“Either the Cranbourne Community Hospital isn’t actually complete and the State Government is hiding delays and cost blowouts, or they have failed to provide the frontline health workers to staff it.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage the health system, and it’s Victorians who are paying the price.”
