Wollongong Hospital needs more funding allocated in the upcoming June budget and an independent inquiry into its staffing, capital and financial needs.

Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully, put Wollongong Hospital on the Parliament’s agenda earlier today by moving a Notice of Motion on the floor of the Legislative Assembly.

The Motion notes the:

1. The elective surgery waiting list at Wollongong Hospital reached a record high of 2572 patients as at 31 December 2018;

1. Independent statistics record Wollongong Hospital’s emergency department as having the third longest waiting times in New South Wales;

1. The Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District expects to again operate at a deficit in the 2018-19 financial year;

1. Wollongong Hospital is treating more patients than ever before; and

1. Calls on the Berejiklian Government to allocate additional resources to Wollongong Hospital in the June 2019 budget and that it immediately reviews the financial, staffing and capital needs of Wollongong Hospital to address pressures on the Illawarra’s major hospital.

Mr Scully’s Notice of Motion will now be debated during Parliamentary sittings in coming weeks.

Comments attributable to Paul Scully MP:

“Wollongong Hospital is under incredible pressure.

“The independent Bureau of Health Information (BHI) releases statistic after statistic, quarter after quarter, year after year, confirming higher elective surgery waiting lists, more time spent waiting for Emergency Department treatment.

“The dedicated doctors and nurses at Wollongong Hospital are treating more and more patients but the Berejiklian Government just doesn’t invest enough to tackle the growing pressures on Wollongong Hospital.

“It was extraordinary that during the most recent election campaign that the NSW Liberals did not promise a single extra cent in additional investments in the region’s biggest and busiest hospital.

“Wollongong Hospital needs more money and the first step of addressing its pressures must be taken in the upcoming June budget.”