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Liberals To Improve Access To Country Medical SpecialistsA Liberal Government would spend $8 million improving access to medical specialists in country Victoria, Shadow Minister for Health Helen Shardey said today. By Helen Shardey - 10th November 2006 - Back to News Ms Shardey said the shortage of doctors and specialists in country Victoria had reached crisis point.
"A Liberal Government will implement an $8 million Country Specialist Outreach Program to improve access to specialists in areas of need in country Victoria," she said.
"The program will create fly-in specialist services for country Victoria, facilitate relationships between specialists and local medical professionals and maintain the skills of rural general practitioner proceduralists and specialists.
"A Liberal Government will also create a state-wide specialist locum service, which will go a long way to relieve our hard working country doctors and specialists."
Ms Shardey said the Liberal Party’s $1.7 billion health policy also included a commitment to provide scholarships for the creation of another 75 nurse practitioners, which would be of particular assistance to country Victorian hospitals.
"These initiatives are part of a Liberal Government’s $1.7 billion commitment to health, which will open more than 1000 additional hospital beds across Victoria, employ 200 more doctors, 1000 more nurses and 400 allied health professionals," she said.
"The policy would allow more than 190,000 extra patients to be treated in the public hospital system in the first term of a Liberal Government.
"A Liberal Government is committed to improving the health of country Victorians and providing the access to specialist services that are urgently needed."
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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