❓ Mr Catania questions the Minister for Regional Development about the Southern Inland Health Initiative providing 24/7 emergency care in regional hospitals. The Minister responds by outlining the initiative's benefits and criticizes the previous government's inaction on regional healthcare.
AnsweredQoN 232Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
REGIONAL
HOSPITALS — EMERGENCY CARE
232. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Regional
Development:
A recent announcement was made by the Minister for Health and
the Minister for Regional Development that the southern inland health
initiative will now provide funding for 24/7 emergency care in four regional
hospitals. Can the minister outline the details of the scheme and the
communities it will benefit?
HOSPITALS — EMERGENCY CARE
232. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Regional
Development:
A recent announcement was made by the Minister for Health and
the Minister for Regional Development that the southern inland health
initiative will now provide funding for 24/7 emergency care in four regional
hospitals. Can the minister outline the details of the scheme and the
communities it will benefit?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for North West for his great interest in
this issue. I think it is absolutely remarkable that we can now give a degree
of confidence to people who live in regional areas that their regional hospital
will have a doctor. The angst about access to educational outcomes for families
with disabilities was discussed in Parliament today. What about regional
families who could not access a doctor in their regional hospital?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : We do
not have a lot of time in question time today. I do not want to be on my feet
taking up more of question time today. I think members can understand what I am
saying.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
Country communities would have loved some outrage by the previous government
when there was no doctor on call at Esperance, Northam, Merredin, Narrogin,
Manjimup, Collie and Katanning. Where was the outrage then? There was no
outrage then! Because of the excellent work of the Minister for Health, we can
now offer 24/7 guaranteed coverage to all of those hospitals so that the
community knows there will always be a doctor there. This is a remarkable
outcome that has taken years and years to deliver. It was comprehensively
ignored by previous state governments who thought it was just too hard, and it
has been comprehensively ignored by the commonwealth government. The
commonwealth government, in charge of providing primary health, does nothing.
It has taken the southern inland health initiative under the leadership of the
Minister for Health to actually offer that certainty to those communities at
last. In Esperance, Northam, Merredin and Narrogin there is now a guaranteed
doctor on the floor 24/7. In Manjimup, Bridgetown, Collie and Katanning there
is now either a doctor on the floor or a doctor guaranteed to be on close call—within
10 minutes of the hospital. The communities of not just those towns, but the
region —
Mr M.P. Murray interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
The member for Collie–Preston was not that concerned when he was in
government about this because he never actually recognised it! He did not
actually do anything about it. The southern inland health initiative is
delivering a fundamental boost —
Mr M.P. Murray interjected.
The SPEAKER : I
presume you want to have question time today. All we have left is 22 minutes.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
The southern inland health initiative is a $565 million investment over the out
years of the budget. The amount of $240 million is being invested in the health
workforce and $300 million invested in capital works. The member for Eyre tells
me this actually means that there will be two extra doctors in Esperance under
the southern inland health initiative providing that vital primary care. A very
important question to ask the commonwealth government is why it is happy for
state taxpayers to pay for primary health in an area it is absolutely
responsible for. The commonwealth does not need to take over primary health
care; it already has it. We are very happy that at long last—after
years of underinvestment in country health—we can now provide certainty
to all people in regional areas, through the southern inland health initiative,
that that regional hospital will be covered by a doctor 24/7. It is about time.
The opposition should reflect on exactly what led to the circumstance that that
certainty could not be guaranteed when it held the Treasury benches.
this issue. I think it is absolutely remarkable that we can now give a degree
of confidence to people who live in regional areas that their regional hospital
will have a doctor. The angst about access to educational outcomes for families
with disabilities was discussed in Parliament today. What about regional
families who could not access a doctor in their regional hospital?
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : We do
not have a lot of time in question time today. I do not want to be on my feet
taking up more of question time today. I think members can understand what I am
saying.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
Country communities would have loved some outrage by the previous government
when there was no doctor on call at Esperance, Northam, Merredin, Narrogin,
Manjimup, Collie and Katanning. Where was the outrage then? There was no
outrage then! Because of the excellent work of the Minister for Health, we can
now offer 24/7 guaranteed coverage to all of those hospitals so that the
community knows there will always be a doctor there. This is a remarkable
outcome that has taken years and years to deliver. It was comprehensively
ignored by previous state governments who thought it was just too hard, and it
has been comprehensively ignored by the commonwealth government. The
commonwealth government, in charge of providing primary health, does nothing.
It has taken the southern inland health initiative under the leadership of the
Minister for Health to actually offer that certainty to those communities at
last. In Esperance, Northam, Merredin and Narrogin there is now a guaranteed
doctor on the floor 24/7. In Manjimup, Bridgetown, Collie and Katanning there
is now either a doctor on the floor or a doctor guaranteed to be on close call—within
10 minutes of the hospital. The communities of not just those towns, but the
region —
Mr M.P. Murray interjected.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
The member for Collie–Preston was not that concerned when he was in
government about this because he never actually recognised it! He did not
actually do anything about it. The southern inland health initiative is
delivering a fundamental boost —
Mr M.P. Murray interjected.
The SPEAKER : I
presume you want to have question time today. All we have left is 22 minutes.
Mr B.J. GRYLLS :
The southern inland health initiative is a $565 million investment over the out
years of the budget. The amount of $240 million is being invested in the health
workforce and $300 million invested in capital works. The member for Eyre tells
me this actually means that there will be two extra doctors in Esperance under
the southern inland health initiative providing that vital primary care. A very
important question to ask the commonwealth government is why it is happy for
state taxpayers to pay for primary health in an area it is absolutely
responsible for. The commonwealth does not need to take over primary health
care; it already has it. We are very happy that at long last—after
years of underinvestment in country health—we can now provide certainty
to all people in regional areas, through the southern inland health initiative,
that that regional hospital will be covered by a doctor 24/7. It is about time.
The opposition should reflect on exactly what led to the circumstance that that
certainty could not be guaranteed when it held the Treasury benches.
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