More than 40 medical professionals have penned a letter arguing Albury-Wodonga health services are being ignored by state governments. The letter’s full text can be found below. Find reaction and further comment on the letter here.
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At the upcoming Victorian State election on November 24, the electors of Benambra, can send a powerful message to Spring Street.
Our electorate and our health service has been ignored and under-resourced by State Governments for too long.
Ten years ago, Border doctors wrote an open letter in the Border Mail urging the establishment of Albury-Wodonga Health.
We believe that this intervention helped the momentum to see the service established.
Since then medical services have grown rapidly
and more and more people are able to receive care locally.
It has been a very positive move for the region.
However, we believe that there has not been an appropriate injection of funding for infrastructure for the new health service.
Neither has there been an increase in sufficient annual funding to deliver the services our community needs today.
We are being ignored by state governments.
We now have the busiest health service in regional Victoria, yet we are denied some basic health infrastructure such as a data system to adequately count patients or audit cancer outcomes.
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Our internet, email and videoconferencing systems fail frequently, meaning we are literally trying to operate “in the dark” being unable to communicate adequately or access information needed to care for our patients.
We are not even guaranteed to keep the doors of the cancer centre open if the number of patients continues to grow as expected this financial year.
We are short of beds and theatres.
Recently the Victorian government declined to match funding from NSW to expand the emergency department, effectively reneging on the signed agreement between the two states.
We have watched other regional centres such as Ballarat and Bendigo receive more than one billion dollars in health infrastructure in recent years.
We have watched rail and other infrastructure announcements made across regional Victoria with Benambra missing out.
We have seen many millions of dollars invested in Shepparton since it became an independent state seat in the last state election. Indi has punched above its weight in Federal initiatives and grant funding.
We have been completely ignored by the major parties in this state campaign in Benambra.
We struggled to get funding for the Albury Wodonga Cancer Centre and we were told “you are not a marginal seat”.
It was only when the community galvanised that the politicians could not ignore us.
We believe it is time again for our community to make its voice heard.
We recently said farewell to Mr Neil Bright one of the leaders of our medical community.
In 2011, he wrote a letter to The Border Mail telling of “chronic under-investment and neglect by federal and state governments of all persuasions” in the region’s medical system.”
In his spirit, we reluctantly, like 10 years ago, want to intervene in the public discourse.
It seems shocking that we need to become political to get what our community needs.
We bear no malice to the current member Mr Bill Tilley who has been powerless to get the funding we need.
We urge Benambra voters to vote strategically at this election, and make Benambra a marginal seat. The health of our community and our families may depend on it.
Signed:
Andrew Kung, Andrew Rechtman, Jonathan Lewin, Sarah Dahlenberg, Craig Underhill, David Christie, Kerrie Clarke, Richard Eek, Cassie Thorley, John Hennessy, Mark Norden, Eliza Tweddle, Scott Giltrap, Barbara Robertson, Catherine Orr, Tracey Merriman, Rebecca McGowan, Pieter Mourik, Luke Baitch, Jonathon de Silva, Sohei Nakagawa, Simon Shute, Jessica Lawford, Don Jin, Nahlini Bhola, Skye Delaney, Michael Cowan, Bill Walton, Michele Quigley, John Russell, Craig MacLeod, John Lowe, Geoff Slaven, John Stuchbery, Esther Langeneger, Heather Chaffey, Ken Davey, Graeme Davey, James Robertson, Mary Tapsell, Russell Auwardt, John Salmon, Ed Darby, Naylon Bissesor
Find reaction and further comment on the letter here.
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