Bendigo Health Campaign

Keep Bendigo Hospital Pathology in Public Hands

Update

MSAV members at Bendigo Health have been organising petitions, media and a public meeting to build community support for the retention of pathology services at Bendigo Hospital in pubic hands. The hospital is currently looking to contract out pathology, which is code for privatisation.

Today MSAV members and other staff in pathology met with local Victorian State Labor MPs Jacinta Allan (Bendigo East) and Maree Edwards (Bendigo West) who are supporting the campaign to keep pathology services in-house.

As members would know, the effects of privatisation on the Bendigo community are likely to include:

• Many pathology tests normally performed in Bendigo would be sent off site to centralised metropolitan laboratories.

• Increased out-of-pocket expenses for patients are likely for tests ordered by GPs and Specialists in Bendigo.

• Reduced quality of Pathology services to public and private patients of Bendigo Hospital and surrounding country hospitals.

• Decision making and control will pass from the Bendigo Hospital to the new provider.

• Loss of specialised skills from the Bendigo region

• Loss of jobs in Bendigo.

Over $100 M has been committed to build a new tertiary teaching hospital in Bendigo. The funds are there to ensure that the new facility includes a state of the art public pathology laboratory. The new hospital will include an integrated cancer centre.

The will be a public meeting on 5 June 2011 at 2.30 pm at St Andrews Hall, Myers Street, Bendigo for the community to get involved in the debate.

Download a Flyer here.

All MSAV, VPA and AHP members who live in Bendigo and surrounding towns are urged to attend and give their support to the campaign.

We have written to the CEO of Bendigo Health to ask for information in relation to an internal subcommittee which has been set up to look at privatisation. To date we have not received a response. Our concern is that there has been no consultation with scientists or other pathology staff and there is no representation from pathology on the subcommittee.

We are aware that there is an ‘independent’ pathologist on the subcommittee who was in the past the Chief Pathologist for Dorevitch Pathology – hardly independent.