State Government fails to deliver on health maintenance blitz in South West

Hospitals across the South West region have been listed among regional health maintenance projects that failed to be delivered by the State Government. The Bridgetown, Donnybrook and Pemberton hospitals and the Northcliffe Nursing Post are among 97 regional health projects the Opposition claims the State Government promised four years ago but failed to deliver. In September 2019, the State Government announced a regional priority hospital maintenance blitz of more than $37m to fund urgent upgrades to hospitals, health clinics, aged care sites and staff accommodation. Projects for the lower South include funding for $1m for a roof replacement at the Bridgetown Hospital, $100,000 and $70,000 to repaint the ceilings of Donnybrook and Pemberton hospitals, and $25,000 for replacing the roof at Northcliffe Nursing Post. Shadow minister for regional health Martin Aldridge said the Cook Government had perpetuated budget cuts by stealth in failing to deliver the program. “Analysis by the Opposition has unveiled the grim reality that out of 209 promised projects, a staggering 97 were never delivered through this funding program, comprising nearly half of the program’s intended scope,” Mr Aldridge said. “The minister for health must apologize for yet another broken promise in regional health and provide a clear explanation as to why these funds were not spent, and why the Government has not been upfront about these multi-million-dollar cuts.” Mr Aldridge said the range of broken promises stretched across every aspect of health care and impacted almost every region in the State, mentioning Bridgetown’s costly roof replacement as one of the more significant projects. “When you consider the multi-billion-dollar increases for Perth projects like Metronet, and a projected budget surplus of $6 billion on the horizon, there is simply no justification for Labor cutting funds from regional health.” The WA Minister for Health Amber-Jade Sanderson was contacted for comment, but had not responded by the time of publication.