Health care is a big issue, for so many in our neighbourhood.
From the mum-to-be who needs to regularly, and affordably see a GP. To parents who want the best care for their kids.
To our elderly – who have worked hard all their lives and deserve quality medical support to keep them active in our community.
That’s why the state government is investing in the Logan Hospital expansion and two new satellite hospitals for us to access close by.
We ‘re investing in these front line services for your family, because we believe in affordable, reliable health care for all, underpinned by a strong Medicare system – a guarantee of affordable and universal healthcare we can all rely on.
And we are determined to make it even stronger.
Just last week, the federal Labor leader unveiled the “Medicare Urgent Care Clinics”, meaning families will get bulk billed urgent medical care, without having to wait in line at hospital emergency departments.
They’ll be open seven days a week from at least 8am to 10pm, treating everything from sprains and broken bones, to stitches and glue for cuts, wound care, minor ear and eye problems and minor burns.
However new hospitals aren’t any good without the doctors, nurses and health professionals to staff them. And with a booming Queensland economy and a workforce shortage, we need more health workers than ever before.
Enter the Shailer Park Health Hub and Jobs Pathways Centre. This newly announced facility will help local students identify pathways to gain the skills they need and supply our community and our new hospitals with frontline health staff.
It is a game-changing boost to the future of our kids.
The commitment will give local students a fit-for-purpose centre to learn those crucial health sector skills. It will help reinforce a series of great partnerships with the health sector, and the hub will help them do more hands-on training at school.
But it’s more than the pathway to decent, secure health jobs, which makes this initiative really special. It’s the fact it will give those students who need a helping hand the support they need too.
Ask any teacher and they’ll tell you about the importance of student well-being as core to their education. In fact my own brother Matt, who teaches at Shailer Park State High, tells me exactly that.
It’s for those reasons, I’m a big supporter of this initiative because it means we can deliver custom designed student well-being spaces to support their mental health, plus opportunities to engage with training providers, universities and employers.
It means giving every student the opportunity to live full, happy, healthy and productive lives. It means proactive and effective health programs, delivered onsite with integration to other government and non-government services.
It means we’ll get to see the Shailer Park Health Hub and Jobs Pathways Centre, delivering graduates to our local hospitals, delivering treatment to local families and helping the very community where they were raised.
I think that is a pretty special vision, for which I congratulate Shailer Park State High School.
