Jodie Harrison and Labor are committed to keeping all public health services in public hands.

NURSE TO PATIENT RATIOS

ALabor Government will oversee the largest injection of nursing staff into NSW hospitals in a generation with more than 5,500 nurses and midwives to deliver mandated nurse to patient ratios. This includes hospitals frequented by Charlestown constituents - Belmont Hospital and the John Hunter Hospital.

4,900 MORE HEALTH & HOSPITAL STAFF

The more than 4,900 additional health workers will include 1,500 additional paramedics, 2,240 additional cleaning and support personnel, and allied health workers. Labor will also fill 900 vacant staff positions and employ 250 additional hospital security staff with special powers to detain.



RESTORING DISABILITY ADVOCACY FUNDING

From July 2018, around 50 disability advocacy services, information providers and peak representational organisations faced losing their NSW Government funding. They were given a stay of execution with a further two years of funding provided.Unlike, the Liberals and Nationals, NSW Labor will fund these organisations permanently.



Q FEVER STRATEGY

A Labor Government will fund 8,000 vaccinations for at-risk residents in rural and regional NSW as part of its $4 million commitment to combat Q fever. Q fever is a bacterial infection that can cause a severe flu-like illness.Under this policy, Labor will extend the existing vaccinations of workers in key industries as well as young students and teachers in agricultural colleges, all of whom should be vaccinated but are often not.

MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM


Open more mental health beds in NSW hospitals by investing an extra $40 million;
Deliver 450 additional counsellors, psychologists and student support officers to all high schools;
Hire an extra 30 clinical psychologists across NSW;
Train and employ 50 mental health outreach workers in regional NSW, to support communities affected by the drought;
Allocate an extra $20 million to partner with not for profit mental health groups in regional areas to complement existing services;
Provide an extra $3 million for improved technology to support rural tele-health initiatives for local health districts to assist mental health workers and patients;
Provide mental health first aid training to public school principals and senior staff to better assist students and colleagues;
Provide $7 million to trial health screening and outreach in four Womens Health Centres
Provide an extra $1 million to fund eating disorder treatment services in the Illawarra;
Establish a public sector mental health charter to support the wellbeing and safety within the NSW public sector;
Set up a NSW Legislative Council parliamentary inquiry into the NSW mental health system as there has not been a full and proper inquiry since 2001;
Work with the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission and the Attorney Generals Department to ban the practice of gay conversion therapy in NSW if there is not a national approach; and
Double the funding for the NSW Police Workforce Improvement Program with an additional $12 million to provide frontline police officers with the support they need to respond to the stressful and challenging nature of the work they undertake. (Up to 250 police officers will suffer physical injuries a month and up to 50 officers will suffer a psychological injury a month.)




(Authorised by Kaila Murnain, Australian Labor Party (NSW Branch), 9/377 Sussex Street, Sydney 2000)