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On 1 April 2006 the Manly Daily carried the headline, “It’s good news for all”. The NSW Government was going to build a new level 5 Hospital for the Northern Beaches and Frenchs Forest was the site.
Four years later it’s hard not to think this was just an April Fools stunt. Tall trees and thick shrubs stand on the corner of Warringah Road and the Wakehurst Parkway where the wards and beds were supposed to be. Staff at both Manly and Mona Vale Hospitals are downtrodden with disappointment and patients have stopped hoping.
So as another NSW Budget is about to be handed down, we are drawing a line in the sand to say – enough is enough.
This has moved beyond politics – for many in the community it is now personal. They have watched as the constant cutbacks at Manly and Mona Vale have demoralised staff and they have watched as the stretched resources have compromised the care they or their relatives have received. And they are now angry.
We have already committed to build the Northern Beaches Hospital if the community elects us next year. The Liberals and Nationals have only made a handful of capital commitments considering the Budget constraints and the Northern Beaches Hospital is one of them.
However, until that time we are putting out a call for arms to get the new hospital built. We’re looking for community members to lead the charge in the Build and Retain Campaign (BARC) – a shout out to build the Northern Beaches Hospital and retain current health services at Manly and Mona Vale.
We want funds allocated in the Budget to start the new hospital and we want the haemorrhaging of services at Manly and Mona Vale to stop.
This week I met Lyn Hopper, the Manly Branch President of the NSW Nurses Association, on the steps of Parliament. She presented me with a petition against the latest cutback – the closure of the Aged Care and Rehabilitation Unit next week resulting in a loss of 20 beds and 22 full-time staff from Manly Hospital.
The petition contained approximately 600 signatures, collected in less than a week, to demonstrate to the Health Minister that the community wants their aged care unit saved.
Lyn had dashed over to Parliament in her lunch break in a cab that her colleagues had chipped in for; buoyed by the feeling their voices would be heard. Despite the constant disappointment, Lyn and her fellow staff are not giving up the fight. The fact that they have to fight just to stop losing services is a disgrace.
I know the community is cynical that the new hospital will ever be built. All I can say is if we are elected we will be held accountable to our commitment, and until that time we will hold the current government to account.
You can help get our community the health services we need. To be part of BARC, the Build and Retain Campaign, simply send an email to the Health Minister (cc me) This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
and share your thoughts on our health services.
If you want a more active role in this campaign, call my office on 9976 2773 and sign up. I am determined to get this new hospital built, as is Shadow Health Minister Jillian Skinner and Northern Beaches MPs, the Member for Wakehurst Brad Hazzard and the Member for Pittwater Rob Stokes. Let's fight to build the new hospital and fight to retain the health services we deserve.
Cheers
Mike | 
