Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to address the House in the adjournment debate today to report on a very important issue in my local electorate and across the Illawarra region. On 2 May this year, just a few weeks ago, the local Illawarra Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association, led by Mrs Edna Stevenson, organised a health rally in Wollongong mall to canvass the many concerns that different groups in our area have about the declining delivery of health services and, to use their term, the Americanisation of our system of health funding.

At the rally there were representatives of lobby groups concerned about issues such as the abject failure of dental health services since the Howard government scrapped the Commonwealth dental health scheme. Others were lobbying to get a Medicare licence for the state government provided MRI machine at Wollongong Hospital. Speakers talked about the problems of accessing many other medical services, as the health system struggles under the failure of the government to address medical workforce problems and the provision of services.

My colleague the member for Throsby outlined to the gathering the various problems facing Commonwealth health provision and the frustration that, over many years now, the needs of the community have fallen on deaf ears within the Howard government and, in particular, those of the current Minister for Health and Ageing. I have presented to the health minister a petition of over 17,000 signatures from people living in the Illawarra region, asking for a Medicare licence to be allocated to the MRI machine at the Wollongong regional hospital. The member for Throsby and I have been fighting for this licence for over four years now. Wollongong Hospital is the major referral hospital for local specialists for our region.

People who are being treated for ongoing and chronic, often life-threatening, illnesses are not in-patients of the hospital but need regular MRI scans to assist their specialist in monitoring their condition. An example that was brought to my attention by a local person was the need to monitor the progress of a cancerous tumour. Often there may still be an income earner in the family and the patient may not be entitled to a health concession card. In this case—and many such cases have been brought to my attention by both patients and specialists in my electorate—the family has to regularly find the cost of the gap for a private scanner provider or, as has happened, the patient has to be admitted overnight to the hospital in order to access the hospital machine as an in-patient.

This is a very inefficient use of hospital beds at this time and it is a problem. The government simply will not provide a licence for the hospital machine to allow outpatients to be bulk-billed for this service. There is no joy in the recent budget on this issue, but we will continue to pursue the government for the provision of a Medicare licence for the Wollongong MRI machine.

My colleague the member for Throsby has been working closely with the local dental health group on behalf of both our communities. The Howard government made one of the most short-term and illogical cost-saving decisions in its first year in government when it axed the Commonwealth dental health scheme. An excellent and very active dental health support group in the Illawarra has been bringing many dental and general health problems faced by local people to the attention of the local community. People have to wait ridiculous lengths of time for public dental treatment.

This group have highlighted a disgraceful number of stories where people on pensions or income support have no option but to be on lengthy waiting lists for basic dental services. They have explained that other health complications too often arise because of untreated dental health problems. Many of these associated health problems are very serious, particularly for those, for example, with a heart condition. In the recent budget, despite the significant income windfall the government had to spend, there was no joy for public dental patients. But again, I am confident that the Illawarra dental health group will not be letting up on the fight to have this service reinstated.

I commend the local community activists who invited the member for Throsby and me to their rally earlier this month for maintaining their determination to fight for the dignity and rights of people who are very vulnerable and who rely on fair and affordable access to our health system. Despite this government’s heartless deafness to their pleas, they will never give up and will continue to lobby politicians, rally the community and keep these issues in the public eye. They are great battlers for our community. (Time expired)