Local Nurse and Nationals spokesperson for Port Macquarie Leslie Williams rallied alongside her colleagues and community members today to call for a stop to further job cuts at the Port Macquarie Base Hospital.
Protesters at today’s rally are calling on the State Labor Government to abandon any thought of further job cuts to front line positions.
Independent Member for Port Macquarie, Peter Besseling, says this week’s cancelled surgery is a demonstrable example of our growing population pressures and the need for further expansion of Port Macquarie Base Hospital.
“The 160-bed facility simply is not large enough to cope with our growing population, and it is the sick and elderly who are paying the price for NSW Health’s lack of commitment to the fourth pod expansion at the hospital,” Mr Besseling said.
“A surge in emergency admissions over the weekend resulted in the elective surgery list being cancelled on Monday and again today, affecting about 10 people, and the situation is not about to improve with tomorrow’s surgery list also affected.
“These cancelled operations are not the result of flu outbreaks or other seasonal infections but are due to the ever present pressures on hospital infrastructure that is struggling to cope with our growing and aged population,” Mr Besseling said.
“We have some of the best doctors, nurses and associated hospital staff in regional NSW, and statistical and clinical evidence supports a major investment in health infrastructure.
Believed to be Australia’s oldest koala, aptly name ‘Birthday Girl’, will celebrate her 22nd year at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital on Saturday 19 September. The ‘Family Fun Day’ will be dedicated to the grand old lady with a birthday atmosphere, kid’s games, a birthday card colouring competition, cake and educational tours of her home at the Hospital.
Now in its second year the Family Fun Day has free entry for locals and visitors from 9am to 3pm. The Hospital is the only hospital in the world that is dedicated to the care of koalas – it treats and rehabilitates around 300 of our furry friends every year.
‘Birthday Girl’ is one of the Hospital’s earliest patients, turning 22 this year, but she has defied her age with mischievous escapes thanks to wonder drugs. Volunteers believe she could be Australia’s oldest koala by measurements and teeth wear. They normally live to be 15 for females and 13 for males.
PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has pledged to pay a personal visit to Port Macquarie Base Hospital following a question in Parliament today from Independent MP for Lyne, Robert Oakeshott.
Mr Oakeshott asked the Prime Minister during Question Time to join him on a tour of the hospital, where he could meet with staff to discuss the pressures they face from growing service demand and the related infrastructure needs of the facility.
In reply, Mr Rudd vowed to visit the hospital later this month, coinciding with the Community Cabinet meeting scheduled in Port Macquarie on August 25.
Mr Oakeshott welcomed the Prime Minister’s response, which included an acknowledgement of the particular healthcare challenges posed on the Mid-North Coast by population ageing and growth.
