Two of the region’s local members are calling on residents to put their views about the future of health services in the state, including the Peel, to a government review set up by the Labor government.
Mandurah MP David Templeman said the Sustainable Health Review would include an extensive community consultation process to ensure that all Western Australians, regardless of where they live, could have their say.
He said health spending over the past 10 years had almost tripled to $9 billion while the state’s population had grown by more than 25 per cent, emergency department attendance had ballooned by almost 50 per cent and hospital admissions were up by 40 per cent.
“It is so important that members of the community have their say with this review,” Mr Templeman said.
“People who work in the health system and indeed patients, can contribute so much to shaping a more sustainable health system in WA.
“So I am encouraging the people of Mandurah to have their say, and help the state government build a sustainable future for our health system that puts patients first. Mandurah’s voice needs to be heard.”
Dawesville MP Zak Kirkup said he would encourage residents to make submissions to the review, but it would not solve the immediate issues they faced at the Peel Health Campus.
“I concur with the Member for Mandurah's point that the community should write into the Sustainable Health Review because what that will do is put together a blueprint for the government on our community’s expectations of our health needs over the coming years,” he said.
“But this will only support a plan for the future and that might be years away and it’s not going to address the immediate concerns that exist right now in our hospital.
“We need to make sure that the Peel Health Campus has adequate and proper funding to meet the needs of our community now, not just in a couple of years time.”
More information on the review can be found at the Department of Health’s website: ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Improving-WA-Health/sustainable-health-review.