Nationals Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland has called on the Victorian Labor Government to put their money where their mouth is and provide further investment into the state’s struggling regional healthcare system.
Ms Cleeland, who is also Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health, raised the issue in Parliament recently, saying she was unimpressed to hear Labor members boast about a thriving health system while regional Victoria is still doing it tough.
“The stark reality is that our regional health services are really struggling,” Ms Cleeland said.
“When I hear about the Government talk about how fantastic Melbourne’s healthcare options and medical facilities are, I feel a need to remind them that this state is bigger than just the city.
“Every Victorian, irrespective of where they live, deserves quality healthcare— this is a fundamental right, not a luxury.”
Ms Cleeland said that extensive ambulance wait times and out-of-control surgery waitlists were just some of the many concerns she had with Victoria’s health system.
“Only 65 per cent of ambulances arrived within the prescribed timeline for Code 1 emergencies in the last quarter,” Ms Cleeland said.
“People are waiting for urgent medical attention, with their lives hanging in the balance, for upwards of 25 minutes before the help arrives.
“On top of the blown-out ambulance wait times, our hospitals are gasping under the mounting strain.
“Our Category 1 surgery waitlists, the most urgent there is, have ballooned by 45 per cent in just three months. At Bendigo Hospital this number has raised by 147 per cent.”
Without further investment from Government, Ms Cleeland said that our regional health care system will continue to fail, and that people will suffer.
“This is people’s families, loved ones, and children suffering,” Ms Cleeland said.
“We need to be spending more on our health services and not making cuts like Labor has done.
“We’ve already seen cuts of up to 15 per cent to our grassroots and preventative services, including programs to address chronic illness and contributing factors such as smoking, vaping, unhealthy eating, and physical inactivity.
“The Government must step up and ensure that our communities and all the people in them are safe, and make sure that our healthcare providers can effectively operate. At the moment, neither of those are guaranteed.”
