Wednesday, 3 May 2023

Mildura Base Public Hospital

Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (19:13): (147) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Health, and the action I seek is for the minister to visit Mildura to release the Mildura Base Public Hospital (MBPH) master plan. On 6 May 2022 there was a media release from the then health minister, stating:

… the Government is progressing a Master Plan which is on track to be completed in mid-2022.

Now that it is almost mid-2023, the people who live within the Mildura Base Public Hospital catchment area across three states are running out of patience. I know the health minister will say that we are attacking healthcare workers, and that is simply not the case. Our healthcare workers are doing an exceptional, marvellous job in a system that is broken and begging for a long-term vision or a master plan in Mildura.

I have spoken with CEO Terry Welch on a number of occasions. In fact he called me this afternoon, Terry, to again ask the minister to visit Mildura not only to see the challenges firsthand, like the urgent need for 30 new emergency department beds, but also so he can showcase some of the positive stories coming out of Mildura. Mr Welch has briefed me on several occasions on some of the positive stories coming out of MBPH, such as the Mildura base foundation and the clinical trial centre. He would very much like to brief the minister on these good news stories himself so he can illustrate the immediate and long-term challenge we face. The foundation is holding a fundraising lunch this Friday, and I am looking for a plus one. So if you would like to come, Minister, I will shout.

When I talk to communities within my electorate and I ask a simple question which requires a very simple answer – ‘What are the top three issues for you?’ – the answer is consistently the same: ‘Health care, roads and housing’. We took a commitment to the election of a $750 million new Mildura hospital because we know that we deserve adequate health care. With the demise of Tristar health care over 15,000 people have been left without a GP – much less a GP who bulk bills. In that same media release I referred to earlier, the then health minister Martin Foley said:

Everyone deserves access to quality health care facilities and services – we’re ensuring Victorians living in Mildura and the Mallee region have exactly that close to home.

This is simply not true. Accident and emergency urgently needs 30 new beds. We desperately need a CAT lab. Did you know that in a regional city like Mildura you cannot get an angiogram, and it is costing lives. The cost is too high. This is a three-state catchment of about 100,000 people, and you cannot get an angiogram. We often hear the government speak about how postcode does not dictate health care and your health care outcomes, but apparently if your health care is around 3500, it certainly does, and the community are feeling it. So I invite the minister to visit Mildura and our hospital to release the long-awaited Mildura Base Public Hospital master plan.