IT is good news that Swan Hill District Health has received an additional $17 million in the Victorian Budget for the rebuild of the emergency department.
Chief executive Peter Abraham informs me this will cover the funding shortfall and allow work to commence at the hospital.
The former federal Coalition government committed $30 million to this project, which will revamp of Swan Hill’s emergency department and critically improve acute healthcare in the Swan Hill region.
I am pleased to see the project is now able to progress, having advocated strongly for it since I was elected to Parliament.
With both the Federal and Victorian Budgets delivering little else for the region, it is important the community can celebrate these sort of funding victories.
While it is good news for Swan Hill, the Victorian Government’s lack of respect for northern Victoria’s health-care system in general is still apparent with no announcement on the long overdue Mildura Base Public Hospital master plan.
As Opposition assistant spokesperson for regional health, I want to see better health service delivery across all aspects of the sector in regional Victoria, whether they are administered by the Commonwealth or the state.
The fact remains that at both state and federal level, the regions are not being adequately recognised.
Staff shortages at both hospital and clinic level are leaving people across Mallee with poorer health outcomes, while infrastructure is holding back the staff we do have from performing at their best.
So while the funding for Swan Hill District Health’s emergency department is a start, there is still a long road ahead for Labor to truly provide equitable health care for those of us in the regions, particularly here in the north-west.
