I’ll fix hospital mess, vows PM

Alex de Vos
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has vowed to slash Geelong Hospital’s waiting list with “long-term” funding to improve primary care around the region.
Mr Rudd announced his plans to tackle the shortfalls in Geelong’s public health system during an inspection of the Federal Government’s new GP Superclinic at Belmont’s Barwon Health facility.
Mr Rudd said he understood the concerns of hospital patients including a Norlane teenager who has waited in agony for treatment of broken bones for nearly two years.
“If you look at the challenges at the Geelong Hospital, they are part and parcel of the challenges faced across the nation,” Mr Rudd said.
“What we need to do is not tinker at the edges but make sure we’ve got secure, long-term funding from the Australian Government for the future to make sure we can expand services. Also, keeping the pressure off hospitals by investing in primary care.”
During his visit to the region on Wednesday, Mr Rudd also pledged $436 million to curb the nation’s diabetes epidemic.
Mr Rudd said the funding injection was an “exciting” component of the Government’s proposed health reform.
Mr Rudd’s reform package makes the Commonwealth provide 60 per cent of funding for public hospital and health services.
“With an estimated 2.2 million Australians diagnosed with diabetes over the next decade our health and hospital system is not well-placed to cope with future demand,” Mr Rudd said.
“We also have information that about 237,000 hospital admissions occur each year arising from complications with diabetes.
“We’re announcing a large new program that will provide proper patient based care in the community for those suffering diabetes.”
Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon welcomed the Government’s plan to tackle diabetes.
“As the Government has made clear, what we do in hospital is vital and we can do more but we think our plan will improve services provided in our hospitals,” Ms Roxon said.
“What we do outside hospitals is also vitally important…and we think we can do more to support and enhance general practitioners, nursing and allied health in the community to manage people’s care better and keep people out of hospital.”
Geelong has one of Australia’s worst rates of diabetes.