Greens Aim to Boost WA Health, Expand Free Care
The Greens (WA) today have announced a commitment to expand access to free healthcare across Western Australia.
The WA Greens will use their position in the Legislative Council to push for an inquiry into GP deserts in Western Australia to ensure there is a roadmap to better access to GPs across Western Australia.
This inquiry will better inform state government bodies and NGOs tasked with resourcing outer metro, rural, regional and remote communities.
Today’s announcement is in addition to the Australian Greens’ federal push to build 1000 free local healthcare clinics across Australia, including 96 clinics in WA.
Each clinic would support up to 12 clinical staff and will be staffed by a multidisciplinary team, including:
The plan would see 6 healthcare centres set up in each federal electorate, saving Western Australians millions in out-of-pocket costs for healthcare appointments.
Western Australians visiting emergency departments are experiencing worse wait times than anywhere else in the country (Productivity Commission). These free healthcare clinics would ease the strain on WA’s struggling healthcare system and will likely reduce wait times in our hospitals.
The last time the Greens held the balance of power in the Federal Parliament, legislation was passed securing free dental for 3.4 million children across the country.
Getting healthcare right requires significant investment and collaboration between State and Federal governments. Western Australians deserve top-tier healthcare, without the fear of how much it’ll cost.
Only The Greens have a plan to provide the free health care the community desperately needs.
As stated by Greens (WA) Health spokesperson and Legislative Council candidate, Sophie McNeill:
“We are in a cost of living crisis in the richest state in the country. While gas companies rake in billions in profits by selling off resources that belong to all of us and paying next to nothing in tax, many Western Australians have been avoiding going to the GP, getting a dental checkup, or seeing a psychologist because they simply can’t afford it.
“Our plan will put free GPs, dental care, and psychology appointments into communities that need them most, so that families won’t have to put off getting the care they need.
“The Australian Greens have put forward an ambitious and comprehensive plan to improve access to affordable healthcare in Australia – however, the state government must also bear some of the responsibility of fighting to ensure Western Australians can access free, accessible health services, when and where they need it.
“As Western Australia’s population remains one of the fastest growing in the nation, it is clear that our state’s health care system is not coping, with record long wait times in WA emergency departments, an ambulance system at full capacity and continuing ramping issues.
“I experienced this personally myself last September when I spent 5 days in a short stay ward at Fiona Stanley Hospital waiting for an MRI to diagnose a brain tumour. The hospital was at breaking point. The staff were overworked, I had nurses in tears in my cubicle.
“We need an urgent circuit breaker to help our overburdened hospitals. These clinics take the pressure off a system that is clearly overstretched and in crisis.”
“Timely and affordable access to healthcare will improve the health and save lives of Western Australians.”
As stated by Federal Greens Health spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele John:
“People across WA are struggling in this cost of living crisis. The cost of groceries, healthcare and childcare is sky-high. Our community deserve political representatives that take meaningful action.
“This is exactly why I am so proud of our Greens plan to establish 1000 Free Local Healthcare Clinics in Western Australia. At these clinics, you’ll be able to see a GP, a dentist, a psychologist or a nurse practitioner without worrying about how much it costs.
“Right now, 1-in-3 big corporations pay no tax, while our health care services are underfunded. The Australian Greens have a plan to get big corporations to pay their fair share of tax to fund the healthcare that everyone needs – like going to the GP for Free, Dental into Medicare and cheaper medicines”
https://greens.org.au/wa/news/greens-plan-ease-pressure-wa-health-system-and-expand-free-healthcare