CATHERINE KING MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND MEDICARE
MEMBER FOR BALLARAT
 
ANNE CHARLTON

LABOR CANDIDATE FOR ROBERTSON

EMMA MCBRIDE MP

MEMBER FOR DOBELL

PAT CONROY MP

MEMBER FOR SHORTLAND

LABOR TO IMPROVE END-OF-LIFE CARE FOR THE CENTRAL COAST

A Shorten Labor Government will build a new palliative care hospice at Woy Woy, ensuring people of the NSW Central Coast get the best possible care at the end of their lives.

The Central Coast is one of the biggest regions in Australia that does not currently have a standalone palliative care facility.

That means many locals who require palliative care have to travel to either Newcastle or Sydney - adding to the pain and suffering patients and their families endure at these most difficult times.

That’s why federal Labor will invest $20 million to establish a 20-bed standalone Palliative Care Unit at Woy Woy Hospital – answering the long-standing calls of the local community.

Federal Labor also welcomes the announcement that a Daley NSW Labor Government would fund staff and provide the site on the Woy Woy Public Hospital Campus.

The unit will house a dedicated multidisciplinary specialist palliative care team to meet patients’ end-of-life preferences and needs.

Construction of the facility is expected to commence in 2020 and will also support local jobs and suppliers.

Residents and health workers have been crying out for a Central Coast palliative care facility for years - but the federal and state Liberal Governments have failed to deliver one.

Labor Candidate for Robertson Anne Charlton is a member of a committee known as Elsie’s Retreat that has been championing this project since 2016. The group recently delivered a 10,000-signature petition in support of the project.

Labor is committed to improving palliative care across the country to ensure all Australians are afforded the comfort, dignity and privacy they need in their final days.

We believe you should get the same access to quality services whether you live in downtown Sydney or a regional area.

This investment is part of Labor’s Fair Go Action Plan to protect Medicare and fix our hospitals. It will be funded through our $2.8 billion Better Hospitals Fund, which will restore the money ripped out of our public hospital system by the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government.

We can afford this investment because we are closing unfair tax loopholes and making multinationals pay their fair share.

Only Labor can be trusted to fix NSW hospitals and deliver the health services Australians need.