A seven-year promise to build small hospitals across Greater Melbourne is one step closer to being fulfilled, but questions remain for residents in Pakenham and Point Cook.

The long-promised Mernda Community Hospital, on Melbourne’s northern fringe, will open its doors to the public next week, Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas announced on Saturday.

An aerial view of the Mernda Community Hospital.

The site, one of 10 promised on the eve of the 2018 election campaign by then-premier Daniel Andrews as a fix for the city’s crowded emergency departments, will initially offer allied health, pathology and early childhood services. It will expand its scope to include dialysis and community mental health from February next year.

Thomas said the Mernda facility would offer families same-day care

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