Minister, here we come

Action stations: Gippsland South MLA Peter Ryan and Gippsland Southern Health Service board president Tracey Gibson.

By Brad Lester

THE future of the Leongatha Memorial Hospital will be known on Thursday, December 10.
That is the date Victorian Health Minister, Daniel Andrews, will meet a deputation from the hospital board and Gippsland South MLA, Peter Ryan, pressing the urgency for a new hospital.
Mr Andrews has told Mr Ryan he is aware the hospital needs rebuilding but has stopped short of committing funds.
Mr Ryan estimated the cost at between $30 and $40 million.
Gippsland Southern Health Service board president Tracey Gibson, will meet the Minster, along with CEO Gary Templeton and Cr Jim Fawcett, health service life governor and South Gippsland Shire Council Mayor.
“We will be trying to convince the Minister of the seriousness of the situation we are in. We have waited for three budget rounds for confirmation of funding,” Ms Gibson said.
“I have full confidence that we can manage an infrastructure collapse but we can’t wait for it.”
The deputation will take place after a public meeting this month to be hosted by the Leongatha Progress Association and Leongatha Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
A date is yet to be set, but the timing will enable the deputation to meet Mr Andrews, armed with the community’s ire.
Mr Ryan paid credit to Mr Andrews for personally inspecting the hospital this year, but said the lack of action continued to frustrate the community.
“I am hopeful the Minister’s decision to grant this deputation is an indication that the Brumby Government has decided to break this impasse and allocate the money so the rebuilding process can begin. Now is the time to act,” he said.
Mr Ryan is also circulating a petition drawing the attention of the Legislative Assembly to the “serious state of disrepair of the Leongatha Hospital” and calling on the government to build a new one “as a matter of urgency”.
Mr Ryan and Ms Gibson emphasised any redevelopment of Wonthaggi hospital as a sub-regional facility should not affect the rebuilding of the Leongatha hospital.
But politically, the need for the Wonthaggi hospital to expand in order to satisfy that area’s growing population would be an obstacle.
“That will be part of the challenge but we do not want our effort here to be forgotten because of what is happening at a sub-regional level,” Mr Ryan said.
“There are certainly needs at Wonthaggi but our needs here are discrete from Wonthaggi. Leongatha needs to be dealt with in its own right.”
Mr Ryan said the board of management and South Gippsland community had repeatedly highlighted the need for a new hospital to the State Government.
“Their efforts to lobby the Minister’s department to provide funding to upgrade the outdated facilities have to date been unsuccessful,” Mr Ryan said.
“The community will now have the opportunity to put its case to the Minister directly.”
In Gippsland Southern Health’s 2009 annual report, tabled in Parliament last month, Ms Gibson stated: “…over the last five (and more) years the ongoing struggle to deliver high quality services, in poor facilities, has become steadily more difficult.
“It is disappointing that in this annual report we are again uncertain about what the Government and DHS are doing to address these critical issues.”
Mr Ryan described hospital staff as “nothing less than brilliant”.

Short URL: http://www.thestar.com.au/?p=105

Posted by Chris Brown on Nov 4 2009. Filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry