Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise again to highlight the savage cuts that the Abbott government's budget will have on the Bendigo community. I now wish to speak about the cuts to Bendigo Health. Bendigo Health is the major provider of health services in the Bendigo electorate. It includes the Bendigo Base Hospital. Because of this budget and what this government has done, $25 million will be cut from the Bendigo hospital over the next five years. This includes $3.2 million next year and half million dollars right now.

The problem that we have in Bendigo is that when the Prime Minister stood at the front of the Bendigo hospital, he did not let them in on the secret. He did not tell the truth. He did not say that he would break his promise of 'no cuts to health care'. He did not tell the CEO to think twice about the budget for next year, because when he became Prime Minister he would be cutting health.

Last week, at the front of the hospital, I met with ambos and nurses. They are concerned about what these cuts will do to the hospital. They are concerned that there will be bed closures. They are concerned that there will be job cuts. They are concerned about something called 'ramping'. For those in other states who do not know about the ambo crisis in Bendigo, when we do not have enough hospital beds in Victoria the ambulances are ramped up. The ambos are concerned—and I share their concern—that, because of these funding cuts, ramping will increase and more patients will be left out in the cold.