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Eyre
Regional Health Bombshell “The population based funding policy of the Labor government that puts money where the most people are, means that it is unlikely that the funding saved by abolishing the Eyre Regional Health Service will be put back in the regions as stated by Mr Hill,” Mrs Penfold said. The Eyre region’s 2004/5 Gross Payment Budget was $37.7 million and covered 32 positions at the 30th June 2005 as stated in their Annual Report for 2004/5 “My greatest concern is for the mental health of people on Eyre Peninsula. There are currently 14 mental health positions funded under the Eyre Region. I will not have a problem if these positions are placed under the direct control of the local Hospital Boards, however if they are lost to the region because of the population based funding system which takes no account of our isolation and the cost of distance training and recruitment etc of staff I will come out fighting. We don’t have enough mental health staff now particularly in the youth area where drugs are becoming more and more of an issue,” she said. I would like to see the Port Lincoln Health Service recognised as a regional hospital. This will attract more specialist services to Eyre Peninsula and save people the trauma, the cost and the difficulty of travelling to Adelaide for operations that could be provided more cost effectively locally,” she said. |
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