St George Hospital

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-150727

Hansard session: Fifty-Eighth Parliament, First Session (58-1)

St George Hospital

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (21:04:53):

I inform the House about stage three of the redevelopment of St George Hospital, which I am pleased to report is progressing very well. I recently had the opportunity to visit the site with the shadow Minister for Health where we saw the exciting new ambulatory care building on Kensington Street, which was recently topped off after reaching its highest point. The new ambulatory care building and outpatient services sections will be a one-stop shop, centralising a number of services in one location and enabling patients to receive the highest quality care from the hardworking nurses, doctors and staff at St George Hospital for many years to come. Thanks to the investments made into stage three by the former Government, local patients will have access to more outpatient services, greater ambulatory care, more beds, specialty units to treat complex conditions and, more importantly for staff and visitors, more parking as well.

It is exciting to see those upgrades taking place. St George Hospital is the jewel in the crown of our local health infrastructure. The upgrades will make it so much easier for patients to access the care they need. Over $411 million was invested by the previous Liberal-Nationals Government to bring the new building to reality. Unlike Labor, which neglected the hospital for over 16 years, the former Liberal-Nationals Government prioritised health infrastructure, ensuring that St George Hospital continues to serve the community for generations to come. It is this side of the House that promised, funded, built and delivered stages one and two, along with the new and upgraded birthing delivery suite, with stage three now well and truly underway. Since 2011 we invested more than $740 million to totally transform St George Hospital into a world-class, state-of-the-art health precinct. After 16 years of Labor neglect, we have seen a brand-new emergency department, a new acute services building, a new birthing suite and theatre refurbishment and more parking, with stage three underway.

The Coalition has a proven track record of delivering on health. During our time in government, we built or significantly upgraded more than 180 hospitals and health facilities across New South Wales. When we left office, a further 130 were underway, which Labor members are now happily cutting the ribbons on. However, after only two years of the Labor Government, we have seen elective surgery waiting lists backtrack to peak‑COVID levels, with over 100,000 waiting. Nurses and midwives have been waiting two years for a wage deal. Psychiatrists are resigning en masse, throwing our mental health system into crisis. Doctors are threatening to strike for the first time since 1984. It is simply not good enough.

We have also seen that Labor are not afraid to put significant health initiatives on the chopping block. Thanks to the former Coalition Government's strong economic mismanagement, we saw record funding in health. Under the Labor Government's economic mismanagement, we have seen shameful cuts to palliative care funding and IVF subsidies. Not only has health funding fallen under this Government, but health programs generally have also been cut. We know that staying healthy means staying active, which is why the cuts to Active Kids vouchers and seniors exercise classes are so shocking and will have negative impacts on our communities' overall health outcomes.

The Labor Government seems to expect nurses, doctors and hospital staff to do more with less. Locally, I will never stop fighting to ensure that local residents have access to the highest quality health care available. St George Hospital is and always will be a priority of mine. Indeed, I have spoken about the upgrades many times in this House. From a new emergency department to more parking to specialty medical units, the upgrades at St George Hospital are making it easier for patients to get the care they need, when they need it. The stage three redevelopment of St George Hospital is a major boost to our local healthcare system, ensuring that residents have access to state-of-the-art medical services right on their doorstep. Residents in my local area and right across the St George area now have the confidence that, despite the failure to upgrade the St George Hospital when Labor was last in government, we have a world‑class health facility that is fully equipped to provide expert care and support when it is needed most. I will never stop fighting on behalf of my community to ensure that this Government does not forget about St George Hospital, as Labor did when it was last in government.