Medi-hotels in Katherine and Gove 'too expensive'

The Northern Territory Health Minister, Dave Tollner, says the Government cannot afford to run medi-hotels in Katherine and Gove.

Mr Tollner yesterday scrapped plans to run a 100-bed medi-hotel at Royal Darwin Hospital, which has already been built with Commonwealth funds.

He says the Territory Government doesn't have the $5.5 million a year to run the short-term accommodation facility.

He is looking for alternative uses, including using it as an alcohol rehabilitation facility or as accommodation for nurses or carers.

Mr Tollner says he will visit Canberra in the next fortnight to ask the Federal Government for more health funding.

"The fact is there's no budget to operate those medi-hotels," he said.

"And rather than build something that might well be mothballed immediately, I'd rather see Australian taxpayers' money spent in areas where there could be some benefit."

The Northern Territory Branch of the Australian Nursing Federation says Mr Tollner is disregarding the real purpose of the Darwin medi-hotel.

"It still misses the point of getting patients out of hospital that are taking expensive acute beds and putting them into somewhere where they can recuperate before they get to the remote community," branch secretary Yvonne Falckh said.

She is calling on the Territory Government to open the facility to patients.

"It has lots of potential to reduce costs elsewhere for the hospital," she said.

"It means that they can increase their throughput with the theatres.

"It means waiting lists can be addressed and decreased."

Source: ABC News, 23 January 2013