Illawarra State MPs Anna Watson and Paul Scully have today called on the Premier to take the opportunity presented by the resignation of the Health Minister to drop the State Government’s privatisation plan for Shellharbour Hospital.

Ms Skinner announced the proposal to privatise Shellharbour Hospital in the middle of last year without any community consultation.

In November over 1000 local residents across the Illawarra made their opposition very clear to the Liberals’ privatisation plans.

Since the surprise announcement by Ms Skinner, the community has been kept in the dark about any further details of the privatisation and also plans for the future of Port Kembla Hospital.

Comments attributable to Anna Watson MP:

“I welcome the resignation of Jillian Skinner.

“With her should also go the plan to privatise Shellharbour Hospital.

“Ms Skinner just dropped the privatisation plan on our local community without any warning, and any consultation and stirred up an enormous amount of uncertainty and distress among patients and staff.

Comments attributable to Paul Scully MP:

“The new Premier and a new Minister for Health should take the opportunity of Ms Skinner’s resignation to drop the privatisation plans for Shellharbour Hospital.

“The communities that we represent have made it very clear that they do not support the privatisation of Shellharbour Hospital and the uncertainty of the future of Port Kembla Hospital.

“Six months after Ms Skinner announced her health privatisation plans, we are all still in the dark about what services will be provided from a privatised Shellharbour Hospital and what services will be ripped out of Port Kembla.”