A promising future for Fairfield Hospital
Published on 20 June 2024
As you would be aware, Council spent the last few years working hard petitioning the NSW Government to provide necessary and well-overdue upgrades to Fairfield Hospital. Following an 11,000-strong signed petition by the community plus several meetings with current and former premiers and health officials, I’m pleased to announce that this significant move set to redefine healthcare in our City has been approved by the NSW Government.
$550 million will be invested in the upgrade of the 35-year-old facility – significantly expanding its capacity and services to meet the growing and diverse healthcare needs of our community.
Key upgrade features will see enhanced emergency and intensive care units and new diagnostic and treatment capabilities – including an MRI machine, ensuring that residents have access to top-tier healthcare services close to home, reducing the need for them to travel long distances for specialised treatment.
Not too long ago I wrote to the state and federal governments to request full Medicare licences on the two current MRI machines in our City. I received a response from the Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care the Hon Mark Butler MP, that from 1 July next year the two MRI machines with partial licences will have full Medicare eligibility.
What does this mean? Previously residents who accessed the two partially-licensed MRI machines had to pay out of pocket for scans, but from 1 July next year scans from these full and other MRI licenses will receive the full Medicare rebate.
This is great news for our residents, and I thank the Federal Government for listening to our concerns and taking steps to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for our community. This will save residents money, time and allow them to access health services locally.
The $550 million upgrade of Fairfield Hospital together with the MRI Medicare rebate news taking effect next year heralds a new era of healthcare excellence for our region.
While the NSW Government has committed to the upgrade, we promise not to rest on our laurels, and will keep working to ensure it delivers. As Fairfield Hospital transforms, so too does the promise of better health and wellbeing for generations to come.