IT is "too early to say" whether there will be closures of some of the Hunter's smaller hospitals once the new Maitland Hospital and John Hunter Health and Innovation Precinct are completed, the NSW Health minister says.
Rumours have persisted that services at smaller health facilities like Cessnock and Kurri Kurri hospitals will inevitably close once the new developments are finished.
Brad Hazzard visited the region on Tuesday to tour the new Maitland Hospital construction site and unveil designs for the John Hunter and John Hunter Children's Hospital redevelopment.
"I think we have to keep constantly reviewing all of our facilities," he said. "When you build you have to look at that. But there are no plans to close any particular facilities at this stage. We're still five years away from the John Hunter Health and Innovation Precinct being finished.
"It's too early to say."
Minister Hazzard said with the state government investing $40 million to expand and refurbish Manning Hospital, Stage 3 of Muswellbrook Hospital on the way and the new Maitland site "basically finished", there had been "a fair bit of magic" already created in the Hunter New England Health district.
"We have been putting a lot of money into hospitals all across the state, particularly in the Hunter region," he said. "What we've found in some of the regional towns and cities is when we put money into building brand new facilities it also attracts new specialists and specialties. It will be a magnet."
A NSW parliamentary petition to maintain Kurri Kurri Hospital has garnered more than 800 signatures.
