THE return of Mildura Base Hospital (MBH) to public management is a victory for all those who people who fought the “good fight”.
So says Member for Mildura Ali Cupper, whose fierce campaigning has helped lead to a Victorian Government decision, set to be announced on Friday, to return MBH to public hands.
“We are accustomed in our electorate since the late ’90s of taking a lot of hits and being undervalued, under-resourced and undersold,” Ms Cupper said on Thursday.
“For me, someone who has been so passionate about this issue — and worked alongside other people who are so passionate — it was a real moment for reflection on the importance of fighting the good fight, of not giving up.
“It really shows that if we can lobby with persistence and consistency and strength and unity over time, our community can achieve great things.”
The government will also announce Ms Cupper will chair a community committee designed to identify future health care needs for the region.
“It’s going to be a 12-month transition process and there’ll be a number of elements to that,” she said.
“The committee will ensure the community’s voice is front and centre — something that hasn’t happened in a very long time.”
Ms Cupper cited various ways a public model would improve on services provided by private management.
They included better clinical governance, better recruitment and retention of staff and other cost-cutting measures such as using skeleton staff.
“It’s incredibly positive that an amount of money to the tune of about $2.7 million a year that’s given to shareholders is going to be able to be reinvested back into our community,” Ms Cupper said.
“The most exciting aspect of this is that our community will be under the best model of health care — the model of health care that everyone else in the state wants — as opposed to being under the model of health care that no one else in the state wants.
“And as a result of that we will be safer in our hospital.
“Our kids will be safer, our loved ones will be safer and that is a good thing because as much as you may want to, you cannot serve two masters.
“You cannot serve shareholders and patients without something having to give.”
