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To: Karen McNamara MP & Jill Hall MP

Save Our Wyong Hospital

We call on the Federal Government to make a critical investment in our public health system, by fully reversing the full $57 billion in Coalition cuts to public hospitals and essential health services.

Why is this important?

According to projections by GetUp, Wyong Hospital could lose up to $281 million in federal funding over the next decade. This is roughly the equivalent of 169 hospital beds, or 313 nurses, or 176 doctors.*

These cuts are the outcome of changes to Federal-State funding arrangements made in the 2014 budget, which saw $57 billion ripped from local hospitals over the next decade. The Turnbull Government's recent budget restored just $2.9 billion, locking in $54 billion of these cuts. Meanwhile the Coalition is trying to argue that they have increased health funding.

These enormous funding cuts come at a time when the Australian Medical Association and Australian Nursing ​& Midwifery ​Federation are warning of an imminent crisis unless hospital funding is increased. They could mean fewer doctors, nurses, or beds, and longer emergency room and elective surgery wait times.

But there's hope. In this critical pre-election period, polling shows that protecting our universal healthcare system is the number one vote-changing issue for Australians. The Coalition's attack on public health is clearly ringing alarm bells for voters, and we have a plan to turn the volume up.

In the lead up to this year's Federal Election, people will step up in their local communities to call on their Federal MPs and local candidates to commit to adequately-funded hospitals. Together, we will lay the foundations for a strong and secure future where all Australians can receive the quality healthcare they need.

*The funding loss projections per hospital are based on figures provided by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) and hospital bed figures (2013) provided by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The projections are based on the full $57 billion cuts figure and represent our best estimate given the available data. For more information see: http://www.getup.org.au/hospital-funding
Pacific Highway Hamlyn Terrace NSW 2259

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Updates

2016-06-05 11:46:01 +1000

1,000 signatures reached

2016-06-01 12:15:03 +1000

We are due to deliver this petition next week so please share on your timeline and get your friends to add their support. I'll be organising a time to deliver the petition and if anyone's interested in coming along to support the call - that would be great

2016-05-27 08:20:20 +1000

Thanks to everyone for signing - we need as many as we can get - politicians won;t listen unless they think it will affect them at the ballot box - so please share this on your own page and ask your friends to sign as well.

2016-05-24 15:17:16 +1000

500 signatures reached

2016-05-18 23:23:53 +1000

100 signatures reached

2016-05-10 21:38:40 +1000

50 signatures reached

2016-05-09 19:06:22 +1000

25 signatures reached

2016-05-09 18:08:47 +1000

10 signatures reached