An $8-million housing project to accommodate health professionals in Victoria's Wimmera aims to address the region's crippling doctor shortage.
The 36-unit development at the end of Byrne Street, Horsham will be within walking distance of the city's hospital, which developer Stuart Benjamin says will help attract doctors who don't drive or don't want to.
More than half of the apartments will be compliant with accessibility requirements and eight will be dual-access apartments so hospital staff can live with their families.
They will also be soundproofed and have blackout curtains to allow staff to sleep around their shifts.
Doctors, nurses and allied health staff will be eligible to live in the units, including staff already working at the hospital and living in rentals around the city, Grampians Health chief executive Dale Fraser says.
Construction is scheduled to commence part-way through this year and it is expected hospital staff will be able to move in from the start of 2024.
"A new clinical year commences every February, so there's a changeover of junior doctors," Mr Fraser said.
"The key timeline for us to have some of these spaces available is February next year.
"No-one has reserved any accommodation yet, and we will make sure the spaces are allocated to those with the highest needs."
Development to ease housing pressure
The Regional Australia Institute estimates there are currently 1,382 job vacancies for medical practitioners in regional Victoria and 1,131 positions vacant for carers and aides.
A key reason behind Horsham's shortage of medical specialists, according to Grampians Health allocations officer Di Schmidt, is a lack of suitable accommodation.
"I have lost pharmacists, social workers and nurses over the past 12 months or so because they can't get accommodation here in Horsham," Ms Schmidt told the ABC in June.
She also spoke about a couple from Queensland who moved to work in Horsham's emergency department and as specialised nurses.
"I think they applied for 30 houses and they both had jobs to come to," Ms Schmidt said.
Mr Benjamin said by housing medical professionals the development would free up homes for people in the broader community.
"At the moment, you've got a lot of people who are maybe just one person to a house, taking up two, three and four-bedroom houses, which is an incredible waste of resources," he said.
Finding a vacant site that was appropriate for the development was not easy, Mr Benjamin said.
"We have looked at 10 sites across the region before we closed in on this one," he said.
"There are ground conditions that make building in Horsham quite challenging, in particular stable ground and flood controls.
"Unfortunately [this included] some of the sites that were closer to the hospital."
The development will be delivered by Elmstone Property Group, local contractors and Grampians Health. It still requires council approval.
Amalgamation brings 'strength': Grampians Health
Grampians Health has existed since October 2021 when Horsham, Ballarat, Edenhope, Stawell and Dimboola's health services amalgamated.
It leaves three other health services serving the Wimmera — in Warracknabeal, Nhill and Ararat — as well as several bush nursing centres.
Grampians Health chairperson Bill Brown said the organisation wanted to show the value of there being a large entity for the entire region.
"The way we were able to partner with Stuart, local government and the community generally on this is a tremendous testament to what the strength of Grampians Health can bring in its size in a deal like this," he said.
"If others want to come along for the ride, they are welcome."
"I don't think a negative impact [of the merger] has been brought to the board's attention at all, I think more the opposite.
"Every amalgamation has its hiccups along the way, but I think we've dealt with them positively and constructively as they've arisen.
"There might be niggles from individuals, but if they're spoken about ways we can address them."
