News

What the candidates say: health

By Murray Silby

Nov 24, 2022

**Kim O’Keeffe:** “It’s really disappointing to think that here we are eight years with an independent and we still haven’t got our finished hospital.” Photo by Rechelle Zammit

This is what participating candidates had to say on health during the Committee for Greater Shepparton-Shepparton News candidates forum.

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Cheryl Hammer: We have committed to a cancer centre — $100 million, which will deliver nearly three times the size of the cancer centres and more extensive services. It’s a Coalition policy. (Completion of the hospital) is very much a high priority for us.

Ian Christoe: Provision of services is fundamental to a well functioning society. I’m aware of stage two, the redevelopment (of GV Health) and I’d like to see that going ahead and completed as quickly as possible. It’s not just the cancer centre it’s emergency as well.

Kim O’Keeffe: It’s really disappointing to think that here we are eight years with an independent and we still haven’t got our finished hospital. I will be lobbying to get the full development. We did meet with the hospital, with Matt Sharp, but they haven’t completed the design and it’s difficult to fund things if you haven’t got a finished design.

Suzanna Sheed: The access to health services is appalling in our region and the hospitals are part of the story. We’ve had $230 million, we’ve got the new mental health unit that will start being built very shortly so it’s just a progression of funding that I’ve already got ... but that doesn’t address what’s happening in the community, and that is the biggest problem, how do we attract professionals into this community and get them to stay.

Diane Teasdale: The Freedom Party is very concerned about the amount of nurses and doctors who aren’t working because they have made the decision to not get vaccinated and I think that this is a very important issue because there’s thousands of them out there.