A spokeswoman for Health Minister Jillian Skinner has confirmed that the High Street hospital will shut because it “would not make sense to run the two facilities together considering the size and scope of the new hospital”.

She said the transfer of health services from the existing hospital to the new hospital  was a logical progression, and in line with what voters expected.

The closure of Maitland Hospital was flagged in a fact sheet that Hunter New England Health published on its website last month in response to questions at a public forum in November.

The spokeswoman said the closure of Maitland Hospital had been known  for some time, and the government had been very “open and transparent” about its plans.

But  Hunter New England Health fact sheets issued in March and November did not mention that  it would be closed.

The November fact sheet said  “no decisions have been made around the possible divestment of existing health service facilities”.

And  the reallocation of health services was “part of the business case”, which is supposed to be finished by the end of June.

It also said “relocating and consolidating services across the district is one of many high-level options and benefits for building the new hospital”.

The NSW Labor Party has accused the government of trying to hide its plans until after voters go to the polls, and has vowed to keep the existing hospital open if elected.

It said Maitland residents were unaware the hospital would be closed and they were “shocked” and “concerned” when party candidates told them.

Ms Skinner’s spokeswoman said the government had not made a decision about whether to sell the site, which  could be retained and used as a health facility.

Liberal candidate for Maitland Steve Thomson said the community should be involved in “any decisions about the current Maitland hospital” and he believed “thorough community consultation” would continue.

He said the existing site could “play a role in the delivery of health services” and there were “a number of services that could be delivered” there such as “community health or aged-care”.

Maitland’s Labor candidate Jenny Aitchison said Labor spent $10million upgrading the emergency department before the Coalition gained government in 2011 and she did not “want that money thrown away”.

“There are 60,000 extra people coming to Maitland in the next 15 years – you  do  not go around closing hospitals when you’ve got that kind of population growth,” she said.