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Hall Presses For $17.1 Million Community Health FundsGippsland MP Peter Hall has made an urgent plea to the State Government for funding in this month’s Budget to redevelop the Latrobe Community Health Service facilities in Morwell. By Peter Hall - 11th May 2006 - Back to News Mr Hall told Parliament that $17.1 million was urgently needed to create a single service delivery centre that would replace the current eight "dilapidated" centres that currently exist in Morwell.
Mr Hall said the new centre was also urgently needed to help address the extremely lengthy waiting time for dental treatment.
He pointed out that the Community Health Servcie was a large organisation and important provider of services.
"Latrobe Community Health Service is a large and complex community health provider that has revenue in excess of $24 million per year," Mr Hall told Parliament. "It provides services to 22 000 clients, predominantly in the Latrobe Valley region but there are also some regional services across the Gippsland area. It employs 204 effective full-time staff and offers something like 80 different services."
Mr Hall said it operates from eight sites within Morwell.
"I can assure the house that it is dysfunctional to try to deliver a service out of eight different sites all of which are in a dilapidated state. There is an urgent need for a major upgrade. Recently I toured the Buckley Street and Princes Drive sites in Morwell and can attest to the fact that they are in urgent need of new facilities.
"There is a budget proposal before government seeking some $17.1 million to totally rebuild the delivery centre in Morwell, bringing those eight sites together, and that is desperately needed."
Latrobe Community Health Service has already spent $632 000 to purchase the necessary land and car parking facilities in Morwell.
"What we now need is a major appropriation in this year's budget to ensure that that building gets built," Mr Hall urged.
"I also add that the redevelopment will incorporate a refurbishment of the dental clinic at Churchill and the establishment of a new dental clinic at Morwell. These are urgently needed, as I said before, to address the long waiting lists we have in gaining access to community health."
Mr Hall added that the community dental clinic at Churchill had been closed for four years and the clinic does not meet current dental clinical standards. The waiting time for general dental care is in excess of 40 months, the highest waiting period for any region in Victoria.
"I plead with the government to make available the $17. 1 million required by Latrobe Community Health Service to build some much-needed and necessary facilities to deliver its services in Morwell," Mr Hall said.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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