Mrs JUDY HOPWOOD (Hornsby) [4.48 p.m.]: I would like to address one of the most important issues in my electorate in the eights years I have been a member of this House, that is, Hornsby hospital. Hornsby hospital has had an onslaught of attention. I am about to address some of the issues that have been raised with me. Hornsby hospital is very old, has great standing within the community and is well loved by residents, who fearlessly fight to uphold its name and to keep it in the area given that in 1996-97 there was a serious threat by this Government to close it.

Some work has been done to Hornsby hospital, but many of its buildings still need to be refurbished, and in some cases demolished and rebuilt. It has suffered badly under the amalgamation of the area health service, becoming the Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service, as have most hospitals in that particular area health service in terms of the gigantic nature of the area and the juggernaut task of managing it. But I have to say the consistent thing I hear about Hornsby hospital is that the staff are completely committed and hardworking—and they are hardworking often in the face of resources that really are not up to scratch.

It has not been all bad news in terms of Hornsby hospital. Funding has been allocated to it for some vital improvements through the lobbying of the local community. I have worked very closely with the local community and we have seen $20.9 million for the construction of a new accident and emergency unit, psychiatric emergency care centre and maternity and paediatric unit; $6.8 million for the construction of the mental health intensive care unit; $1.1 million for the development of the transitional care unit; $636,000 to provide all-weather linkways; $989,000 to install a 64-slice CT scanner; $235,000 for the purchase of equipment and structural and refurbishment works for the radiology room upgrade; and $121,000 for the supply and installation of air-conditioning in operating theatres.

However, there are matters that this Government has not addressed notwithstanding calls from doctors, nurses and staff members, including ancillary staff members. This hospital has been in the news consistently since late last year, the latest tragedy being when a senior nurse slipped over in the operating theatres due to a leak in the ceiling of the operating theatres and had to undergo what was considered to be extremely serious surgery for the career-changing type of injury that she sustained. The Government has offered to put a new $1.5 million roof over the operating theatres. That is totally unacceptable to everyone who has visited the hospital—except for the Government. It seems that the Government does not see the need for substantial spending to at least rebuild the operating theatres. There is much more that needs to be done and the medical staff council has been very vocal. It has listed problems in a submission to the Minister and it states:

Hornsby Hospital is a busy and important community asset. It has been sadly deteriorating physically for many, many years. It is now the time to address this problem seriously.

Some of the problems are that walkways, internal roadways and parking areas are in poor condition, body protection areas are not compliant, lifts are old and dysfunctional and roofs are in poor condition. Fire safety in theatres is poor. There is a need for upgrading of air-conditioning and a need for asbestos removal and painting. We have a message for the community: The New South Wales Liberals and Nationals in government will conduct an audit of all hospitals across the State to determine replacement and refurbishment needs and will develop a 10-year forward plan and criteria to determine priority.

Those criteria will include questions about compliance with fire regulations, occupational health and safety issues, whether facilities provide a clean, safe environment for optimal patient care and whether they allow efficient use of resources. As Hornsby hospital would rate very poorly on the basis of such criteria, it is anticipated that it will be placed very high on the list of priority projects, which will be tackled by the New South Wales Liberals and Nationals within a time frame based on the budget situation that will be inherited from Labor hopefully in 2011 at the March election.