Nationals Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland has expressed concern over Labor’s potential cuts to regional health services, saying that our health providers need support now more than ever.
Expectations are that significant cuts will be made to Victoria’s health system in the upcoming State Budget, with regional providers set to be put under further financial stress due to the Labor Government’s inability to manage money.
Ms Cleeland, who is the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health, said recent footage from both Goulburn Valley Health and Bendigo Hospital highlighted some of the issues regional ambulance services and health providers were suffering from.
“Ambulances across the region are being made to wait hours to drop off and collect patients, delaying them from responding to other potentially life-threatening situations in the community,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Our ambulances and patients are stuck in the car park as our hospitals just do not have the beds to look after everyone.
“This is a real-world consequence of Labor’s mismanagement of our health system.
Years of waste, mismanagement, and underinvestment in our health services under Labor have meant too many Victorians suffer tragic health outcomes.
“This government is exploiting our regional health services as a cash cow to bolster its financial mismanagement of Melbourne projects.”
Nationals Member for Shepparton Kim O’Keeffe raised concerns over the potential cuts to healthcare providers, stressing the need for funding security in regional communities.
“Health services within our region already lag behind those found in the rest of the state, with significantly delayed ambulance response times, out of control GP wait lists, and a general lack of resourcing,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
“Hospitals across the region have already reached out to me saying they are concerned about potential cuts to their funding in the upcoming budget. Many have stated that they are already being told to cut services and staff, despite operating with healthy reserves.
“When investment is so critical to improving health outcomes, this Labor Government is now suggesting further cuts to regional health services in order to compensate for their overspending in Melbourne.”
