Community
8 May, 2026
Still no sign of PET scanner
IT appears the arrival of a long-awaited PET scanner for South West Healthcare is no closer, with no funds included in the upcoming State Budget for the equipment.
In a press release issued late last month, the state government outlined new hospital investments across Victoria.
Included among the items to be allocated funding was a new PET scanner for Shepparton Hospital, however there was no commitment to deliver this critical diagnostic service previously promised for Warrnambool.
“Ahead of the 2022 election, the Labor Government committed to funding eight PET scanners across Victoria, with Warrnambool promised as one of the locations set to benefit,” Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell said.
“Four years later, several of those scanners have been delivered elsewhere, but no word and no explanation for Warrnambool.
“Serious questions now need to be answered about what is causing the delay and why our community continues to be overlooked. “
Ms Britnell said local providers, including Lake Imaging at St John of God Hospital Warrnambool, have made it clear they are ready and willing to deliver this critical service.
With both radiology clinics in Warrnambool privately operated, there is no difference to patients in out-of-pocket costs regardless of the provider.
“The issue is not local capability, it is government bureaucracy and inaction,” Ms Britnell said.
“A PET scanner is not a luxury. It is an essential diagnostic tool that enables earlier and more accurate detection of cancer and other serious conditions.
“Without it, patients are forced to travel long distances for scans, adding stress, cost and delay at a time when timely treatment is vital.”
According to Ms Britnell, Opposition leader Jess Wilson has said increasing access to healthcare was a key priority.
This would include delivering the long-promised PET scanner for Warrnambool.
“Last month’s announcement makes one thing clear; while Labor celebrates new investments elsewhere, the PET scanner our community was promised and deserved remains absent.
“This is a poor performance from the Allan Labor Government that made a clear promise to our community and has simply failed to deliver.
“Four years on, there is no transparency, no timeline and no accountability. Meanwhile, other communities have received their PET scanners.”
The pre-2026/2027 state budget announcement also delivered another blow to the region, with no additional funds allocated for the Warrnambool base hospital redevelopment.
“This deepens fears the original project promised to the community is being quietly abandoned and replaced with a cheaper, watered down version,” Ms Britnell said.
She said that after standing shoulder to shoulder with the community in 2020 and endorsing the hospital masterplan, the Labor Government promised a redevelopment that would meet the growing needs of the south west for generations to come.
That promise was built on years of consultation, planning and community advocacy.
“Now, instead of honouring that commitment, the government is overseeing a slow retreat from the very vision it once celebrated,” she said.
“Serious concerns remain that key components of the redevelopment, including pathology and other essential clinical services, are being cut back behind closed doors.
“For patients, families and frontline staff, this is not a matter of bureaucracy or budget lines, it is about the quality and safety of healthcare when people need it most.”
She believes the government’s refusal to provide new funding in this year’s budget, combined with the lack of transparency has left the community asking whether Labor is spending money progressing the project or rewriting plans to shrink it.
“After years of promises, delays and uncertainty, the south west deserved answers in this budget. Instead, it received silence.”
Ms Britnell said that as someone who spent 30 years working as a nurse, she knows you cannot run a safe, modern hospital by hollowing out essential departments.
“When you cut pathology, you do not save money, you put patient care at risk.
“Last year the government announced another $10 million, yet there has been no transparency about where that money has gone.
“The community is right to ask whether that funding has been used to progress the build or to redraw plans and water down what was promised.
“This budget was the government’s chance to restore confidence and guarantee the full redevelopment would proceed. Instead, they delivered nothing but silence.”
