The NSW Liberals & Nationals will reopen Gulgong Hospital and build a new MPS, Liberal & Nationals Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health Jenny Gardiner said today in Gulgong.

“The people of Gulgong made their voices well and truly heard at last year’s rally, and we have listened. Gulgong wants its hospital back and they won’t settle for a second best option” said Ms Gardiner.

Shadow Minister for Healthy Lifestyles and Nationals Member for Barwon Kevin Humphries, called on the Federal Government to commit their share in order to make a new MPS happen. “If they’re serious about regional health they must come to the party” he said.

Nationals candidate for Orange Electorate, Andrew Gee, slammed the current plans to build a HealthOne facility at Gulgong as inadequate.

“The current plans for a HealthOne are an insult to the people of Gulgong” said Mr Gee. “Under NSW Labor, Gulgong will never get an MPS. They obviously don’t want one and never have. If they were serious about it, they would have the plans drawn up by now. Only the Liberals & Nationals Coalition will provide Gulgong with the health services it wants and needs. We said at last year’s rally that we would re-open the old hospital and build a new MPS and that is the pledge of an incoming Liberals & Nationals Government. We have been true to our word. If a Liberals & Nationals Government is elected on March 26, the battle for Gulgong hospital will end.”

Mr Gee stated that the priority would now be to get the old hospital re-opened which included obtaining an independent report on the asbestos issues. He also urged the Gulgong community to stay involved in the reopening process.

He also welcomed the advent of the Liberals & Nationals policy of implementing health district boards. “We need to end the reign of the health bureaucrat and let local people have a say in how their hospitals are run” said Mr Gee.

Mr Gee said that reopening Gulgong hospital would have positive economic benefits for the town. “If Gulgong loses its hospital, people with families will be reluctant to move here and the elderly will be reluctant to stay. This sort of thing can send towns into a downward spiral. We’re drawing a line in the sand at Gulgong. Building strong regional communities is what the Liberals & Nationals are all about.”
 

Patients in the Myall Lakes electorate will benefit by an average of $100 following the NSW Liberals & Nationals announcement to boost the Isolated Patient Transport and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS), Shadow Parliamentary for Rural Health, Jenny Gardiner, Member for Myall Lakes, John Turner, and The Nationals Candidate for Myall Lakes, Stephen Bromhead said today.

The IPTAAS budget will be increased by 50%, injecting an extra $28 million into the scheme over the first four years of a NSW Liberals & Nationals Government.

"This is a huge win for local patients who are forced to travel long distances to get the health care they need," Jenny Gardiner said.

"A typical patient who makes an IPTAAS claim will receive on average an extra $100 towards their travel and accommodation costs," she said.

"This positive, practical plan from the NSW Liberals & Nationals will improve the quality of life for those patients who need to travel long distances and stay close to the medical treatment centres they need to access.

Member for Myall Lakes John Turner said greater access will mean better outcomes for local patients and healthier rural and regional communities.

"A NSW Liberals & Nationals Government would also review the IPTAAS administration fee, the distance eligibility criteria (focusing on patients with a chronic disease), parking arrangements and paperwork complexity", Mr Turner said.

"Labor's administration fee saw some patients spend more money on bureaucracy than they would get back via the IPTAAS allowance. In Government, the NSW Liberals & Nationals would review this fee with a view to making it fairer so it does not stop people claiming, or even seeking treatment in the first place.

"The scheme will also be reviewed with a focus on patients with chronic diseases who may fall outside the current eligibility requirements.

"After 16 years of Labor neglecting regional and rural patients, a NSW Liberals & Nationals Government will give patients in Myall Lakes a fair go.

"There is strong evidence that improving patient travel schemes leads to better patient care as well as improving the health of communities over the longer term."

The Nationals Candidate for Myall Lakes Stephen Bromhead said local patients would benefit from the increased allowance.

"Many patients in the local area travel long distances to receive life-saving medical care," Mr Bromhead said.

"The NSW Liberals & Nationals will provide more financial help to ensure they can better access the medical care they need.

"Local patients have told me Labor's scheme is too bureaucratic, too mean and just doesn't go far enough in terms of covering the out-of-pocket costs families endure.

"I want to improve the quality of life for patients in our region.

"I'm thrilled Barry O'Farrell, Andrew Stoner and Jillian Skinner have listened to the concerns of local patients and acted.

"Only a NSW Liberals & Nationals Government can deliver better patient care for families in the Myall Lakes electorate," Mr Bromhead said.
 

Jenny Gardiner has long campaigned for a better deal for voters who live in areas without frequent postal services and who have been disenfranchised in previous State elections.  The NSW Parliament has now legislated to provide technology assisted voting  for  electors "unable to vote by reason of location" and who live more than 20 kilometres from a polling booth.

The new electoral laws will also provide technology assisted voting for electors with impaired vision or with certain other disabilities.

Electors will need to register with the NSW Election Commission to access technology assisted voting.

To read Jenny's speech on the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Further Amendment Bill 2010 which provided for this reform, click here.

With Penola, SA, as her birthplace, the remarkable lives of Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods, who
co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph in that town, has always been a talking point in Jenny's family.

Jenny attended the canonisation of Australia's first saint in Rome and, on behalf of the NSW Liberals & Nationals, responded to the Ministerial Statement on the canonisation in the Legislative Council.

To read Jenny's speech, click here.