Ward Speaks on Hospital Helipads Legislation

Member for Kiama Gareth Ward has today delivered his Second Reading Speech on the Health Services Amendment (Hospital Helipads) Bill 2024, aimed at ensuring the inclusion of a helipad in new or redeveloped hospitals with have emergency departments.

The proposal comes in the wake of the scandal-plagued delivery of the new Shellharbour Hospital which has a cycleway strategy but no helipad to be built and operational on day one. This is in spite of the existing Shellharbour Hospital having a helipad.

Mr Ward said building a new hospital is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and the Minister for Health who is also the Minister for the Illawarra should be fixing this.

“Our community deserves a world-class hospital, and that includes a helipad to provide patients with access to life-saving care in emergencies. The fact we’re replacing an existing hospital without this key feature makes no sense,” Mr Ward stated.

“Time is everything in a medical emergency. Whether it’s a stroke, cardiac arrest, or a severe trauma, the ability to transfer patients swiftly to specialist care can save lives. I’ve introduced this Bill to ensure no corner is cut when it comes to the safety and wellbeing of our residents.”

Mr Ward expressed disappointment that the current hospital design does not include this critical infrastructure and urged all Members of Parliament to support the Bill.

“Our region is experiencing a boom in growth, and our healthcare infrastructure needs to grow with it. Excluding a helipad from this project is short-sighted and unacceptable. I withdraw the bill if the government backs down.

“They say you can’t legislate for common-sense; but it seems this Minister and this Government is challenging this adage.

“This is about putting people first. We need our hospitals to meet the highest standard of care for everyone in our region.” Mr Ward concluded.