Daylesford hospital
Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (13:57): The Daylesford hospital has been neglected by Labor and the Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas, who also happens to be their local member. In fact Labor has neglected the Daylesford hospital so badly that the community had to raise $100,000 themselves to pay for a redevelopment master plan. That plan has wide community support and the approval of the Victorian Health Building Authority. All it requires is funding, but Daylesford hospital has been ignored in the latest budget. Last week the Minister for Health bragged about the completion of an operating theatre refurbishment that cost $6 million. That amount is less than a rounding error on Labor’s infrastructure blowouts. Meanwhile the hospital’s roof is leaking, beds are left unused because they no longer meet infection control standards, services have to be reduced – all while demand for urgent care is going up. The Minister for Health should be embarrassed that a hospital in her own electorate goes begging for desperately needed funding while Labor are planning to spend over $216 billion on the Suburban Rail Loop.