DAWESVILLE MLA Zak Kirkup has called on the State Government to boost funding to Peel Health Campus in response to a deepening health crisis in the region.
Mr Kirkup will host a rally on Tuesday, May 1 to support the hospital and call for more resources in the wake of unprecedented community concerns about bed numbers and staffing levels.
He said many people continued to contact him with recent experiences at the hospital and while staff did an amazing job, there needed to be an urgent and immediate expansion of the emergency department.
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READ NOW“I had made the issues very clear to Health Minister Roger Cook,’’ he said.
“ I have written to him, had a number of parliamentary questions and debates with him, I even invited him to attend the hospital and tour it with me but he is missing in action on this issues.
“Last week he was in Mandurah for meetings but did not visit the hospital to see the issues raised with him time and time again.”
Mr Kirkup said he was hoping for a crowd so large at the rally that Mr Cook could no longer ignore pleas for an immediate expansion in the emergency department and a long term plan for the hospital.
“If you live in Mandurah or the Peel region and want to help improve the hospital, visit www.peelhealthrally.com or call 95343200 and join the rally,’’ he said.
Mr Cook said the last major investment in Peel Health Campus was $3 million by the Labour Government in 2008.
“For eight years while the Barnett Government was in power, Health Minister Kim Hames and the government did nothing to address the healthcare needs of the region and as a result failed to keep track with a rapidly growing population,” he said.
“I have specifically asked the head of the Sustainable Health Review to look at the needs of the Peel Region and the interim findings have just been released that identify the areas as a pressure point.
“The State Government will use the review to inform future decisions about the way health is managed in Peel to ensure local people receive quality healthcare that can be sustained for future generations.”
Mr Cook said he met recently with the City of Mandurah to discuss the consultation process that would be undertaken to address future health needs in the area.
“The South Metropolitan Health Service with the Department of Health is undertaking an analysis of the service demand and usage for the Peel,” he said.
A decision on the service delivery model and the clinical needs of the region will inform the decision regarding the Peel Health Campus redevelopment requirement.
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