Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell wrote  to Ms Mikakos, asking her to visit the hospital as a matter of priority and to immediately deliver funding for the stage two of the upgrade.

Mrs Britnell said the hospital was one of the key issues for South West Coast residents and the Great South Coast Group of council’s No. 1 priority.

“There is absolutely no denying this needs to be done and I urge the minister to get on with the job sooner rather than later,” she said.

“In the last Labor Government, $7.5 million was spent developing plans for the upgrade through the community consultation committee. I call on Minister Mikakos to action that committee’s recommendations as a matter of priority.

“The Warrnambool Base Hospital is the largest hospital in the south-west region and to have an effective healthcare system  we need to make sure it is able to handle the growing demand on its services.”

Mrs Britnell said the time for talking was over and the upgrade should be made a priority of the state government.

“The plans are done and we’ve been told the project is shovel ready. The minister must come and see for herself why this upgrade is needed and immediately deliver funding to get the project started,” she said.

Mrs Britnell will be officially declared the winner of the South West Coast election at 10am on Monday.