Royal Prince Alfred and Canterbury Hospital were both left out of the Government’s cash splurge on public hospitals in this year’s NSW Budget, despite population demands forced on inner west communities by the Berejiklian Government.

Between 2011 and 2036, the population of the new Canterbury-Bankstown LGA is expected to rise by 166,900 or 49.7%. That is annual growth of 1.6%.

The number of approvals for units, apartments and other non-house dwellings rose from 169 to 1,532—an increase of 807% - between 2011 and 2016 alone.

Based on the latest quarterly health data, over 1,000 people are waiting for elective surgeries at Canterbury Hospital and 670 at Royal Prince Alfred.

At Canterbury Hospital, wait times for general surgery; ear, nose and throat surgery; and gynaecological surgeries have all risen based on the latest quarterly health data. Wait times for common procedures including hysterectomies, tonsillectomies and knee replacement surgeries have all increased significantly. 

5,126 babies were born at Royal Prince Alfred in 2015 and 3,416 at Canterbury, placing significant pressure on existing services.

The Government is set to release its latest plans for intensive rezoning along the Sydenham to Bankstown Corridor in the coming days, with the plans reportedly set to add an extra 100,000 residents along the corridor with no additional spending for health infrastructure. 

Comments attributable to Jo Haylen MP, Member for Summer Hill:

“Every parent in the inner west knows that baby clinics are already bursting at the seams.

“Yet the Government is set to pump tens of thousands of extra people into our suburbs without an extra cent for our public hospitals.

“This is irresponsible planning that will overload our already stretched hospitals and health care services. The Budget has failed to acknowledge the extraordinary pressures the Government is putting on inner west hospitals.”

Comments attributable to Sophie Cotsis MP, Member for Canterbury:

“In the past year, more than 40,000 patients have visited the Canterbury emergency department with that number predicted to surge as the population increases under the Berejiklian Governments extreme density targets.  

“The Berejiklian Government will impose 36,000 additional dwellings in our area and not one extra dollar towards Canterbury Hospital.

“Canterbury Hospital is under enormous pressure, which will get worse with this extreme growth.” 

Comments attributable to Jihad Dib, Member for Lakemba:

“The Berejiklian Government has its priorities completely wrong. The Government is targeting our areas for extreme growth of an additional 36,000 dwellings over the next 20 years but not one extra dollar for Canterbury Hospital.

“This is unsustainable and an abrogation of their responsibility for the health of our citizens.

“The NSW health and hospital system is under pressure with state wide elective surgery waiting lists growing and patients waiting longer in emergency departments.”