A bus load of Maitland locals are heading down to Parliament House in Macquarie Street today to hear the Maitland Hospital issue debated on the floor.
The debate has been triggered by a petition headed by Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison which was submitted with 17,000 signatures from people who want a 100% public hospital, not a Public Private Partnership (PPP), which is the current plan.
Jenny Aitchison says Health Minister Brad Hazzard has visited Maitland on the issue, but this debate gives him the chance to hear directly from residents and for the residents to hear from him.
"We want to have the Minister hearing directly some of the words and voices of the Hunter. There's a busload of people coming from the Hunter who'll be there to witness that. So that will be very good because they'll be able to see for themselves how weak the government's arguments will be."
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| Image hunterindependent.com.au |
A local nurse from the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association said the resources at Maitland Hospital are being drained and it's time the government acted.
"We can't be squeezed any further. Any attempt to find further savings is dangerous. Our community deserves a publicly funded and publicly run hospital that provides unbiased access to care."
Jenny Aitchison says the community have been loud and voiced their opinions at rallies and public meetings, and someone has to be listening.
"I've had doctors calling me saying 'keep up the fight Jenny, keep that hospital in public hands'. You know, there's a lot of risks for us not being able to attract doctors if we don't have a public hospital in Maitland. We already have a private hospital - there's really no sense in them retaining this failed PPP model," said Jenny Aitchison.
