TED RAMPS UP PRESSURE ON STATE GOV’T OVER BLOOMHILL

Member for Fairfax Ted O’Brien has accused the State Government of telling “porkies” as he leads a campaign to save Bloomhill Cancer Care.
Without an urgent injection of funding, the wellness centre which nurses cancer patients will be forced to close its doors, turning away hundreds of people.
Mr O’Brien called on the State Government to consider Bloomhill’s funding request instead of playing politics with misinformation.
“It’s really simple: The Federal Government is prepared to forfeit $660,000 it is owed from the State Government so that money can instead go to Bloomhill.
“We don’t want the money as long as it goes to Bloomhill so why doesn’t the State Government just come out and say ‘Yes, we’ll give the money to Bloomhill’.”
Mr O’Brien said contrary to statements released by the State Government’s media team, Federal funding of the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service had dramatically increased over the past six years.
Federal health funding to the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service was $136million in 2012-13 and has increased every year, peaking at more than $275million in 2017-18.
“In the last six years, Federal health funding has risen by almost $140million. That is a huge increase and nothing like the so-called budget cut wrongly claimed by the State Government,” said Mr O’Brien.
“State Labor’s claim that Federal funding is going backwards is yet another porkie from the State government.
“Here we have Bloomhill doing extraordinary things, servicing more than 1200 cancer patients a year, employing 47 people and managing 450 volunteers.
“They have been caring for Sunshine Coast people for more than 21 years and they have not gotten one cent from the State Government in that time.
“Such is the demand for their services they just cannot keep up and this why the State needs to step in.”
Mr O’Brien said the State Government was shirking its responsibility.
“It’s pretty simple – is the State Government prepared to reallocate to Bloomhill the $660,000 it owes the Federal Government. Yes or no?
“I cannot believe they are prepared to refuse funding, they refuse to speak to Bloomhill and now they are out there telling porkies,” said Mr O’Brien.