Nurses and employees at hospitals across the region remain concerned and disappointed about the forced mergers of local health services.
A petition has been tabled to the Victorian Parliament calling for hospital amalgamations to be cancelled and for local jobs and services to be protected.
Nationals Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland has thrown her support behind the cause saying the State Government must keep their hands off local hospitals.
“For too long, this government has exploited our regional health services as a cash cow to bolster its financial mismanagement of Melbourne projects,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Labor has painted the picture that local hospitals are losing money due to inefficiencies and a poor allocation of resources, and that hospital operations are to blame.
“This couldn’t be further than the truth, the reality is the Labor Government has never provided enough funding for the hospitals to succeed.
“The current funding level is just barely enough to cover wages and basic expenses such as food and medicine and has suffocated hospitals and left them unable to replace equipment that had reached the end of its life or recruit more staff when necessary.
“These mergers are punishing local health services that by all accounts are running better than the state’s major health providers they are being merged with.”
Ms Cleeland said these mergers bring the threat of regional patients being forced to travel long distances for basic services and the loss of local jobs from our communities.
“We are already seeing the impact of these proposed mergers before many of them have even begun, including job losses for long-term cleaning, catering, and support staff, as well as nurses,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Other towns have been unable to keep their emergency department doctors open over the weekends, leaving locals at risk. As things stand, people living in remote areas are already 1.8 times more likely to die from potentially avoidable causes compared to people in major cities.
“The signs are ominous, with nurses reaching out to me seeking clarification on the future of their hospitals.”
Ms Cleeland says she will continue to advocate for local hospitals, their staff, and the communities they keep safe.
“Our hospitals are a sense of pride for our community, are major employers, and ensure that locals can get high quality treatment without having to travel long distances,” Ms Cleeland said.
“I believe that people best placed to support our local needs are local people.
“I wholeheartedly oppose these mergers and support the right of our local hospitals to operate independently and not lose their local skill, local knowledge, and local care.
“Labor must keep their hands off our hospitals.”
Significant cuts have been made to Victoria’s health system in the recently released State Budget, with regional healthcare providers being particularly vulnerable due to the Labor Government’s irresponsible spending.
This year’s budget cut $207 million from public health on top of millions cut from dental services, aged care, ambulance services, health workforce training and maternal and child health.
