Graley beds bid

By Lia Bichel
A LOCAL Labor MP is urging the Coalition Government to provide extra beds to Casey Hospital.
Narre Warren South MP Judith Graley said she urged Liberal Minister for Health David Davis to assure local residents that the City of Casey Hospital would receive the extra beds and facilities promised by the previous Brumby Government.
“Labor’s commitment included 30 new beds and a surgical operating theatre,” she said.
“Labor not only built Casey Hospital- we continued investing in its future. Casey Hospital was also to receive an additional 30 sub-acute beds as part of the historic health agreement by the Gillard and Brumby Governments, an agreement that the new government has not committed to. I fear that this investment will now cease under Ted Baillieu, who failed to announce a single extra bed for Casey.”
Mr Graley said the failure to announce extra beds for Casey “makes a mockery of the new Member for Gembrook’s pledge of setting up a commitments page on his website, where extra beds for Casey will be noticeably absent.”
The Casey Hospital is not in Gembrook MP Brad Battin’s electorate, but Mr Battin said the Coalition Government would deliver new beds on a clinical needs basis.
“The Coalition will deliver on our commitment of 800 new beds in Victoria in our first term. The location of these beds will be determined based on clinical need,” Mr Battin said.
“We are developing a Health Services Plan 2022, the first ever state health plan. This will plan for Victoria’s future in health including the services offered in Gembrook for the next decade.”
Mr Davis said The Coalition has committed to opening bed numbers “after Labor drove them to the lowest ratio in living memory.”
“Labor damaged Victoria’s health system over 11 years, allowing waiting lists to blow out and building inadequate infrastructure,” Mr Davis said.
“Now Labor seeks to blame almost everyone but themselves.”