Where will the new hospital staff live? Hazzard silent regarding the 'work going on behind the scenes'

At a community consultation session in Moruya on March 18, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard addressed community concerns regarding housing availability for future hospital employees.

Mr Hazzard said NSW Health could not be the only provider of housing, and that the NSW Government was working with local government to try and ensure there was better development of housing within the area.

"A lot of work is going on behind the scenes at the moment," Mr Hazzard said.

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However when asked by Bay Post about what this work entailed, both Mr Hazzard and Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor did not elaborate.

Mr Hazzard said it was hoped the hospital would attract many staff into the area, and acknowledged that housing prices were increasing - especially since the confirmation of the hospital's location.

A Southern NSW Local Health District spokesperson said there was currently staff accommodation in both Batemans Bay and Moruya which served the purpose of providing staff a place to stay, however the spokesperson acknowledged this did not help the long term prospects for medical staff finding housing. This housing is flexible and is used to support visiting or new staff.

The spokesperson confirmed that the $260 million allocated for the master plan does not include staff accommodation, however the plans shown at the Moruya community consolation session did include space for potential accommodation additions in the future.

"Accommodation tends to be something that happens later in the project," the spokesperson said.

Members of the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital will be at Moruya Country Markets on May 7 to share information about the hospital, designs, planning, next steps and how community members can be involved.

Members of the community can comment on the plans for the new Eurobodalla Regional Hospital development by completing the community survey.