By Matthew Pearce
Visiting Rockhampton on Thursday, 1 June, Opposition Leader David Crisafulli called on the State Government to deliver on facilities promised for Rockhampton and Yeppoon hospitals at the last state election.
In 2020, the ALP pledged $18.2 million for a new cardiac hybrid theatre at Rockhampton Hospital, which will provide access to Level 5 cardiac diagnostic, implantation and interventional services; $12.8m for an additional six-bed expansion and refurbishment of the mental health ward at the Rockhampton Hospital and $5.7m to establish a satellite renal dialysis unit with eight treatment spaces at Capricorn Coast Hospital.
Mr Crisafulli said the three projects should be well and truly underway after three years.
“To know that work on projects that were promised before the election hasn’t even begun is deeply troubling for a region in the grips of a health crisis,” he said.
“Promises don’t heal health systems that are in crisis, actions do, and the LNP is calling on the government to admit whether the funding has been cut for these projects.”
He said the State Government had promised the cardiac theatre would be delivered by 2023.
A spokesperson for Health Minister Shannon Shannon Fentiman said the State Government had allocated $36 million dollars for the cardiac hybrid theatre, expansion of the mental health unit in Rockhampton and the Renal Dialysis unit in Yeppoon.
“All three projects are budgeted for, underway and will be delivered,” they said.
“The Palaszczuk government delivers record funding for health in Queensland, David Crisafulli’s record is slashing services and sacking health workers.”
Mr Crisafulli said Queenslanders deserved a world class health system and that included being able to get services where they lived.
“These hospitals are the difference between people choosing to stay and choosing to leave the regions, and they shouldn’t have to leave,” he said.
“People should have the right to have a child where they live and get world class services where they live, and to see the services being stripped out of regional communities doesn’t make sense.”
He called on the government to adopt the LNP’s solutions to the health crisis, including better resources, better triaging, sharing data in real time and putting doctors and nurses back in charge.