NSW Parliament was told that the Berejikilian Government had placed the health needs of the Illawarra on the shelf for the last 12 months as “it turned itself inside out” over whether to privatise Shellharbour Hospital.
Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully, speaking on the Health Legislation Amendment Bill this morning, called on the Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard MP, to confirm that the Government’s privatisation proposals “will never, ever, see the light of day again.”
Unless the Minister provided that commitment on the record in Hansard, he said the Government if re-elected in March next year, would dust off those privatisation plans and implement them.
Mr Scully told Parliament that he had written to the Minister on three separate occasions last year calling for an independent, external inquiry focusing on the Wollongong Hospital’s financial situation, personnel requirements, and to make detailed recommendations on how these challenges can be addressed. A similar inquiry was commissioned by the Government into Bega Hospital and the local area’s health district.
Mr Scully told the House of the extraordinary pressure Wollongong Hospital was under late last year when internal text messages among nursing staff screamed that the hospital was at “breaking point”.
He also said the NSW Auditor-General’s report on health clusters in 2016 and 2017 has found deficiencies in financial management, while noting public comments from the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health Districts, Chief Executive Officer, Margot Mains, that this was due to “significantly more services to the local community, particularly in acute and emergency care.”
Mr Scully told Parliament that despite the medical, nursing, auxiliary and administrative staff at Illawarra hospitals providing dedicated and professional care to patients in all facilities in the region there is significant pressure on the region’s health system and this must be addressed by the Government.
Comments attributable to Paul Scully MP:
“I fear that the Government’s muddled priorities and desire to focus on Sydney means that when health budget allocations are being made the needs of the Illawarra are not being listened to.
“There appears to be some sort of systemic bias against the region when it comes to taking our growing health needs seriously.
“The Minister should agree to my request to commission an independent, external inquiry into the resourcing requirements in the largest referral and teaching hospital in the Illawarra at Wollongong Hospital.
“The sooner this takes place the better to make sure Wollongong Hospital can cope with increasing patient demands and we can have confidence in the Illawarra’s hospital system.”
