NSW Labor is promising to boost health care in rural and regional areas if it wins the state election by appointing a new senior bureaucrat to oversee health outside of metropolitan centres and increasing the number of frontline workers across the state.
The party's health spokesman Ryan Park said if Labor formed government on March 25, it would employ an additional 1,200 nurses and midwives, 500 paramedics and increase the number of specialist breast cancer nurses.
Mr Park said the regional health workforce had not been a priority for state governments for many years.
"For too long, it's been a priority to build new capital, [put] new equipment in areas, without adequately staffing them," he said.
However, the party refused to make a commitment to increasing the pay of frontline health workers.
Last year, members of the state's Nurses and Midwives Association went on strike on four separate occasions, partly due to poor pay.
Mr Park said it was an issue to be dealt with if Labor formed government.
"We'll sit down with frontline workers and their unions and talk to them about concessions, what we can do in relation to savings and productivity gains," he said
Mr Park also pledged to implement all of the recommendations of last year's scathing Upper House inquiry into regional health care.
The state government has committed to implementing 41 of the inquiry's 44 recommendations.
Last April, following on from the inquiry, the Coalition also announced it would establish a Regional Health Division.
Mr Park indicated a Labor government would likely retain the division, as well as appointing a dedicated deputy secretary of NSW Health to oversee health outside of metropolitan centres.
"So that they, like the other deputy secretaries, are at the decision-making table — and therefore regional and rural communities are at the decision-making table — when it comes to allocation of resources. That hasn't happened for some time," he said.
Labor open to local health district model review
Mr Park said a Labor government would also be open to a review of NSW Health's local health district model, which splits the state's public health services into 15 geographically-based management areas.
Earlier this month Griffith-based independent Member for Murray Helen Dalton called for the Murrumbidgee Local Health District in the state's south to be demerged.
"The Murrumbidgee Health District is almost the size of England and is centred around Wagga, so for those people to the north of us or to the west, for them to travel to Wagga is hours and hours."
Also seeking re-election at the March poll, Ms Dalton said she wanted to see hospital boards re-established.
"So that they have local input into what is needed for their town and district," she said.
Mr Park said he had spoken to Ms Dalton about the proposal.
"I do want to have a look at the structure and make sure, within individual locations, it is serving the community well," he said.
