Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson has criticised the priorities of the ACT government after it set aside $3.3 million for improved energy efficiency at Canberra Hospital.
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But the challenging of the spend, which will lead to a 500-kilowatt solar array being built on the hospital's roof, has been condemned as short-sighted by Health Minister Simon Corbell.
Speaking a day before Chief Minister Andrew Barr committed Canberra to a 100 per cent renewable energy target by 2025, Mr Hanson questioned whether the hospital energy spending was a priority when the city's health system was "struggling".
"I would have thought that when emergency department waiting times are the worst in the country, the hospital is failing accreditations in obstetrics and urology and the toxic culture of bullying still reigns, there are more important issues to deal with at the Canberra Hospital," he said.
"I am not against renewable energy, but it's really a question of priorities. It's clear that Simon Corbell is more focused on renewable energy than fixing what should be the best health system in the country."
Mr Corbell said the loan, which would also provide for fitting LED lighting campus-wide, was one of the easiest investment decisions the government would ever make as Health would pay it back from its annual electricity savings.
"It is incredibly short-sighted of the Canberra Liberals to oppose an investment in energy efficiency that will help save ACT Health $500,000 a year," he said.
"While the initial loan from the Carbon Neutral [ACT] Government Fund will be repaid in about seven years, the energy-efficiency measures made possible by this investment will save the health system money for decades to come."
Canberra Hospital was stripped of accreditation for urology training in June, and in February it received a six-month extension to conduct obstetrics training, the shortest period possible.
Cultural problems were credited as the reason for the training snubs.
Mr Corbell said he recognised problems with the hospital's training culture and a related review, which he ordered in June, would soon be released.
He pointed to the unconditional three-year accreditation awarded to ACT Health by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards this month as evidence of a world-class health system. The accreditation covered all clinical areas.
The ACT government has loaned $6.5 million from the carbon neutral fund (previously named the Resource Management Fund) since 2010, and $2.4 million had been repaid.
