Although Armidale Hospital missed out on grants for a $50 million upgrade in the last round of federal funding, Member for Northern Tablelands Richard Torbay says he will mount a petition to have the issue debated in State Parliament.
He has the support of the New England Health Alliance to secure the 10,000 required petition signatures in the Armidale, Guyra,Uralla and Walcha regions to force the debate.
Hunter New England Health is seeking the Armidale Hospital upgrade be resubmitted as a priority in the next Commonwealth Health and Hospitals Fund, Mr Torbay said.
“Health Minister Jillian Skinner confirmed in answer to a question I put to Parliament last week that we had failed in our first bid and had not received an invitation from the Commonwealth to resubmit,” he said.
“There were a lot of politics around this issue in the run up to the March state election and also a huge run on the funding for hospitals throughout the nation.
“It was disappointing to hear the Minister say that the initial application from the former state government was of such poor quality it was rejected.
“We now have to regroup and ensure that a new application is made and that it fully meets the Commonwealth criteria.”
The MP said the Minister had indicated in her reply that, under the restructured state health system, there would be opportunities to present submissions that include the new models of care and innovative measures required.
“Prior to the election, the current government gave an undertaking to meet the commitments made by its predecessor,” Mr Torbay said.
“In March there was a pledge from the previous government to put $10 million on the table to secure a further $40 million from the Commonwealth for the Armidale Hospital redevelopment.
“I would expect that pledge still stands and that we will receive the support we need to succeed in the next new round of the federal Health and Hospitals Fund.”
