Liberal for the Blue Mountains Owen Laffin has promised an increase in more frontline staff to local hospitals.
“Labor’s local MP has empty promises of improving health services, but we are delivering more than 329 new staff for the Nepean Blue Mountain Local Health District.”
Mr Laffin said based on current demand projections he is expecting:
- 195 more nurses and midwives
- 47 more doctors
- 40 more allied health workers
- 47 more hospital support workers
“This is an unprecedented investment of $2.8 billion in health staff, which comes on top of the 16,000 already added since 2011,” Mr Laffin said.
Mr Laffin said the increase in nurses would push numbers past the nurse to patient ratios the NSW Nurses & Midwives’ Association asked for.
“We have built or upgraded more than 100 hospitals and health facilities across the state – more than 60 in regional NSW – and 100 more are underway,” Mr Laffin said.
But Member for Blue Mountains Trish Doyle said “the Berejiklian government is playing catch up with Labor and trying to match our commitments in a desperate bid to cling to power”.
“This just proves what Labor and the Nurses and Midwives Union have been saying all along that our hospitals are woefully understaffed. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing concrete in the Liberals’ commitment today about specific numbers for Katoomba and Springwood hospitals. They are double-dipping on their election commitments by counting staff at Nepean Hospital for the entire Blue Mountains region.”
Ms Doyle added: “Instead of fudging the numbers for their election promises, they should take the money they are wasting on two new Sydney stadiums and put that towards schools and hospitals across regional and rural areas like ours that are crying out for additional resources”.
