Is Modbury next on the Federal Government's health hit list?

Francesca Belperio

09Oct07

CONCERN: Tony Abbott talks with Leanne O'Brien.

THE Federal Government has hinted Modbury could be the next hospital on the takeover hit list by the Commonwealth.

On a pre-election visit to the hospital  and the marginal seat of Makin  last Thursday (October 4), Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott said his government had been urged to take control of Modbury Hospital, as had happened recently with the Mersey Hospital in Northwest Tasmania.
The government made the decision after the Tasmanian hospital faced losing specialist services, as is happening at Modbury. Both hospitals are located in marginal federal seats.
``There are a lot of people, because the State Government has done a bad job, a lot of people want the Federal Government to take over their hospital and certainly (Makin Liber candidate) Bob (Day) suggested we should take over Modbury,'' he said.
However, Mr Abbott refused to promise pediatric and maternity wards would remain open if the Liberal Government is re-elected. All the country's hospitals, except the one in Tasmania, are State Government-run.
Liberal Candidate for Makin Bob Day added weight to the suggestion, saying the Federal Government would ``threaten'' to takeover the northeast hospital if the State Government did not reverse its decision to close the pediatric and maternity services.
``It's already being considered by the Federal Government who are using the Mersey Hospital as a case study,'' he said.
``If it's successful then they will roll it out to other hospitals. Now if that isn't a hint about Modbury, I don't know what is.'' The State Government in June announced maternity and pediatric services at the hospital would close as part of the State Government's major health system overhaul  highlighted by the $1.7 billion new Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Hospital, due to be open by 2016.
Mr Day said he had since been inundated with calls from concerned residents, lobbying the Federal Government to take over Modbury.
Labor candidate for Makin, Tony Zappia refused to promise he would lobby for the wards to re-open under a Federal Labor Government but said he was in discussions with State Health Minister John Hill about retaining the services.
He said the Federal Government had under-funded Modbury Hospital by $56.86 million in the past five years, when the Australian Health Care Agreement was supposed to be a 50-50 funding arrangement. The Federal Government is trying to bully people into adopting a community board hospital system, State Health Minister John Hill says. Criticising Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott's visit to Modbury Hospital last week, Mr Hill also said any move by the Commonwealth to takeover Modbury was a ``political stunt''. ``This is about politics, not health,'' Mr Hill said. He said the community scheme was an attempt to ``bully the state into a scheme that the leading thinkers of health say isn't the best way to go''.
``It's a bullying attack  he's going to try use his funds to bully the State...'' He refused to back down on his decision to close Modbury Hospital's maternity and pediatric services. Contrary to Mr Abbott's view that a local board was likely to mean more beds and doctors, Mr Hill said it would do the opposite.

CAMPAIGN TO SAVE SERVICES RAMPS UP:

NORTHEAST residents are ramping up their campaign to save Modbury Hospital's maternity and pediatric services from closure, with more than 4500 people signing a protest petition.
A Save Modbury Hospital website has also been established to give residents a chance to express their views about the State Government's decision to close services.
The Modbury Hospital Community Support Group president Leslie Purdom said the website  the brainchild of husband and wife residents Michael and Irena Zagladov  would help put the issue in the spotlight.
``A lot of people still haven't heard about the closures so we've got to spread the word and be outspoken about the impracticality and inhumanity of what has been proposed,'' she said.
Residents have continued to push for permanent pediatric and maternity services at the Modbury Hospital even though the State Government in August softened the initial decision and agreed to open a 23-hour short stay pediatric ward at Modbury.
At a meeting last week with Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott, group members said they were frustrated with the State Government's lack of response to their campaign.
When Mr Abbott suggested they approach their local members, residents roared with laughter.www.savemodburyhospital.com