General News
28 August, 2024
Fight for health services not over, MP says
SOUTH West Coast MP Roma Britnell has called on the Victorian Government to offer concrete assurances the sustainability of local health services will be protected.
Speaking through a member’s statement in Parliament recently, Ms Britnell offered her congratulations to the community for its vocal opposition to proposed mergers and budget cuts for Victorian health services.
Her statement came a week after the Victorian Government ruled out “forced mergers” of local health services with larger regional providers, and announced an additional $1.5 billion in funding – which Western District Newspapers understands will, at least in part, be used as health service budgets are finalised at the end of August.
“I want to congratulate the community on its strong action in forcing the Allan Labor Government to announce a backdown on its plans for cuts to health services funding and forced hospital mergers,” she said.
“This government demanded multi-million-dollar budget cuts from Victoria’s 76 health services and withdrew longstanding guarantees that ensured they would stay open.
“For months, these demands have caused enormous concern within our community with uncertainty around the impact on health care accessibility, local jobs, and patient outcomes.”
Ms Britnell said a lack of transparency had left Victorians disillusioned with the validity of the government’s claims additional funding would be used to cover shortfalls in the budgets of health services, and cast doubt on the claim mergers with larger regional health services would not be forced.
“Their announcement last week contained little more than a bucket of money and vague statements about creating a new bureaucracy,” she said.
“We have the Treasurer saying nothing is on or off the table, as far as how this $1.5 billion will be spent.
“No detail on what happens once that money is spent.
“No certainty for health services to be able to plan budgets and allocate staffing with confidence.”
Ms Britnell called for clarity, saying Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas “continues to dodge questions and gives the community no assurance when she merely states that there will be no forced merges”.
“People in the community have invested in placards around the region which will be left in place to remind the government we won’t accept hospital merges by stealth,” she said.
“Whether it’s more than $184 billion in debt and climbing, cancelling the Commonwealth Games, $40 billion in waste and mismanagement on its Melbourne Big Build projects, or the massive cuts to health that Labor claims is now being reversed.
“The community are rightly mistrustful of this Premier and any promises she makes.”