Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Neerim District Health Service is a small rural hospital and aged-care service in West Gippsland. I was delighted recently to visit the Neerim District Health Service, meet with CEO Cate Graham and her team for a tour of the facilities and hear of their future plans for the facilities.

Neerim District Health Service began as one of Australia's original bush nursing hospitals and is this year celebrating its 90th anniversary. Thirty years ago Neerim District Health Service was one of three dozen similar hospitals in country Victoria; today, it is one of our last four surviving original country community hospitals in Victoria. Those remaining have evolved to survive, but they all still have the same underlying Australian spirit of ensuring equality of access to care for Australian families, wherever they live, whatever their age, whatever their economic and social status. It is community-driven health care that many have forgotten, but it should still be celebrated and supported as government recognises that people need to be cared for where they live.

Under the Regional Jobs and Investment Packages, the Neerim District Health Service earlier this year was provided with a grant to upgrade aspects of the facilities. In comparison with some other grants, it may have appeared small and gone unnoticed. However, the dollar-for-dollar spend enables the health service to spend $300,000 on an upgrade which will attract new patients and residents and add aesthetic value for them during their time at the facility. These upgrades will provide aged-care residents with a new outdoor area, enhancements to the communal and social areas and a renovated kitchen that will be home-like, enabling residents to feel more at home. It was great to visit the hospital and hear how excited they are about the upcoming works and how passionate they are about providing health services to their local community. This is the reason that the Neerim health service has survived for 90 years: the fact that it is supported by a community that recognises the importance of the district's key health service provider, a major employer and important contributor to the local community and one of the district's central social links.

The service has revitalised itself in recent years. A new board of management and its clinical staff are determined to build its reputation as a small, skilled health service providing necessary local health services and specialised health services for a broader catchment. Neerim District Health Service's underpinning principle is that all Australians should have access to quality health services in the district where they live. I look forward to working with Cate, her team and the Neerim district community in order to assist them in continuing to deliver their important health services to the district well into the future. It is well known that I'm not very happy with the way health care has been provided by the last two governments, including this one. I believe there should be major changes made, especially to how we allocate beds and how we allocate the capital funds. Whoever takes the government reins at the next election, there needs to be change in this area.