Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the threat to local hospitals in my community. My local community is deeply concerned that the Prime Minister’s announcement of last week could threaten services at Springwood Hospital, and the Sydney West Area Health Service. The Daily Telegraph last Friday exposed the threat to health services in the Blue Mountains. It singled out Springwood Hospital as one that would see major funding cuts and potential closure under the Rudd government’s so-called health reforms. Under the proposed casemix funding model, the same fee will be paid for procedures performed in Springwood as in Sydney. This means that hospitals that are already under-resourced and communities on the outskirts of cities, like Springwood and Katoomba, will struggle to make ends meet as they battle with uncertain projected income and with paying for more equipment and medical supplies.

Services at these hospitals are already overstretched, and access to services has been cut. We see it in Katoomba Hospital, which has no maternity unit. Women are having to travel to Penrith and, while travelling, are giving birth on the side of the road. This is unacceptable in the 21st century in Greater Western Sydney and particularly in the Blue Mountains. People living on the outskirts of large cities travel far enough already. They should not be forced to travel further for essential health services.

These grave weaknesses have already been proven by other states that tried this funding model and turned their backs on it 10 years ago. It is not viable. It was not a viable option then and it is still not a viable option for many hospitals now. It is severely disappointing to see that there is only one line in an 82-page document with detail about the impact Labor’s proposal will have on hospitals such as Springwood and Katoomba, proving that they are still a city-centric government and have spared no thought for people and residents living on the outskirts of large cities and for regional and rural communities that already have under-resourced hospitals and less access to services. In the case of emergencies—for example, a quick birth—somebody giving birth to a baby that is going to be very rapid has no access to such a service in the Blue Mountains.

I call on the Prime Minister to rule out any closure or cut to services at Springwood Hospital or in the Blue Mountains and to give a guarantee that funding to already under-resourced hospitals in this region will not further decline and that the funding model developed will enable services at hospitals that need to expand to meet existing needs to be looked at and met.