WERRIBEE MERCY HOSPITAL NEEDS A FULL MEDICARE REBATED MRI LICENCE

As a major growth area experiencing sustained and rapid population growth, residents in the City of Wyndham are in desperate need of a full rebate MRI machine.

The redeveloped Werribee Mercy Hospital, expected to open in late 2018, would significantly benefit from an MRI licence that would deliver Medicare subsided scans to patients. The Liberals must seriously consider the Werribee Mercy Hospital as a suitable option for Melbourne’s growing outer Western suburbs.

Currently, residents of Wyndham must travel to Geelong, Sunshine or the Melbourne CBD to access the nearest Medicare-subsidised MRI machine.

This means that locals are forced to pay high out of pockets costs or travel a significant distance to get a diagnosis.

Even worse, some people are choosing to forgo the scans altogether because they simply cannot afford the trip – potentially putting their lives at risk.

This is unacceptable.

A Shorten Labor Government will ensure more communities have affordable access to life-saving scans, expanding Medicare-subsidised access to diagnostic imaging in areas where there are shortages.

Because Labor understands that when you are sick, the last thing that you should have to worry about is whether the local hospital has the resources to help you get better.

“We need an MRI licence for our local hospital. I call on the Federal Government to join Labor’s commitment to fund 20 licences and to address the shortage in the Western suburbs.”

“Our hospital is putting patients in ambulances to drive them across the roas to get their MRI scan done – I’ve experienced this with my own mother. It has to stop. I can’t imagine the waste of money and inefficiency. We need an MRI licence for our local Werribee Mercy Hospital” said Ms Ryan.

Ms Ryan has launched a petition to put pressure on the government to meet this crippling need.

WEDNESDAY, 4 JULY 2018

Authorised by Noah Carroll, ALP, Canberra