Constituency questions
Benambra electorate
Bill TILLEY (Benambra) (14:45): (990) My constituency question is to the Minister for Health. The information I seek is why a 20-bed step-down ward at Mercy Health Albury and a modular surgical ward at Albury Wodonga Health are not being funded. Albury Wodonga Health is chronically short of beds, between 50 and 70 short of what is needed every day. It means ambulances are parked, unable to get to the next emergency, while hospital staff try to find a bed for the patient. It means there are not enough beds for public surgery, and there are now 3665 people on the waiting list at Albury Wodonga Health, which is a 10 per cent increase in just the last three months. Business cases have been done, but this should be all you need. It will cost less than the daily interest on the state’s debt. I asked this in 2022 and last year, and I hope to avoid another all-spin, no-substance response.