Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has dramatically escalated a campaign for reform of a "Newcastle-centric" local health district, telling parliament the CEO should be sacked if he can't staff hospitals in small towns.
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The Nationals MP described his motion as an "ultimatum".
His intervention comes in support of a unanimous vote by the local mayors of his area to investigate breaking up the 17-year-old Hunter New England Health district, last week.
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On Wednesday, Mr Marshall gave notice of a motion calling on the parliament to express "deep concern with the approach of the Hunter New England Health CEO of cannibalising various services and staff from outlying health facilities in the district to support larger centres, especially the district's hub at Newcastle".
He called on CEO Michael DiRienzo to fully staff and resource all health facilities outside Newcastle, "to allow the full functioning once again of intensive care units, operating theatres and other critical acute services to ensure patients are treated as close to home as possible".
If the health service didn't take immediate steps to resolve what he called a dire situation, Mr Marshall moved that parliament should require Mr DiRienzo to either resign, or terminate his employment.
"It's blindingly obvious to anyone that the further you are away from Newcastle you are the worse off your health services will be," he said.
"We are at the end of the line in this massive health district and this motion is the culmination of frustration and anger in the community."
A spokesperson for Hunter New England Health said the district was aware of Adam Marshall's political commentary and would respond through the normal parliamentary process.
The Hunter and New England local health districts were controversially combined in 2005. The health body now administrates scores of health services from Newcastle to Tenterfield, and is the state's only local health district to cover both a large city and a large rural area.
The New England joint organisation of councils last week voted to investigate how to split up the body.
Asked if he backed a divorce, MP and cabinet minister Kevin Anderson said that he looked forward to the recommendations of the rural health inquiry, which visited the North West last year.
Mr Marshall's motion also backed calls by Independent MP Joe McGirr to develop a dedicated Department of Regional Health.
The motion is set down for debate during the next Parliamentary sitting period. The MP said he hopes there will be action before the debate comes on.
Minister for Regional Health Bronwyn Taylor was contacted for comment on this story.
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Andrew Messenger
Politics, environment and energy journalist at the Northern Daily Leader. I also write about health, bushfires and occasionally music. I'm a Brisbane boy by way of Charleville and Hobart who now lives in in beautiful New England. Get me at andrew.messenger@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Politics, environment and energy journalist at the Northern Daily Leader. I also write about health, bushfires and occasionally music. I'm a Brisbane boy by way of Charleville and Hobart who now lives in in beautiful New England. Get me at andrew.messenger@austcommunitymedia.com.au
