Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully, has called for a June Budget boost for Wollongong Hospital.

In a Private Members Statement delivered to the NSW Parliament last night Mr Scully outlined how Wollongong Hospital services were groaning under the pressure of growth and that demand growth was not adequately being funded through the Berejiklian Government’s hospital funding model.

Over the term of the last government, between March 2015 and 31 December 2018, service demand at Wollongong Hospital has grown rapidly.

Independent statistics record more than 60 per cent growth in the elective surgery waiting list while at the same time emergency department presentations have grown by 17 per cent over the term of the last government.

The median waiting time for a hip or knee replacement or to have their tonsils removed is almost a year.

Wollongong Hospital continues to wait for the thoracic surgeon that was promised before the 2015 election.

Mr Scully recently launched a petition to the Minister for Health supporting calls for more funding. The petition can be found at https://paulscullymp.com.au/petitions/wollongong-hospital-funding/

Comments attributable to Paul Scully MP:

“It is time Wollongong residents, patients, families and staff at Wollongong Hospital got their fair share of the health budget.

“The region is growing, service demand is growing but the funding model is not keeping pace with this growth.

“The staff in our hospitals do a fantastic job with the resources they have but they are stretched.

“We need more beds opened up and the staff to support them and that requires a fair allocation from the bureaucrats in Sydney.

“In the June Budget, Wollongong Hospital needs a budget boost.”