Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Today I'm taking the opportunity to celebrate a huge win for the Nambucca Valley. As of last week, the long-awaited CT scanner is finally operational at Macksville District Hospital. This critical piece of machinery will enable early diagnosis, support, emergency and inpatient care and increase overall access and availability in the Nambucca region for imaging, with no more travelling the 120-kilometre round trip to Coffs Harbour. The knock-on positive effects for the Coffs Harbour base hospital's overreached emergency department will be immediate as they'll no longer have to take on all those patients from the Nambucca Valley.

Since 2019, I've been campaigning alongside community health leaders for this life-saving machinery to be delivered and, despite securing funding in 2021, it's been a bumpy ride. But on Thursday I received the fantastic news from the Mid North Coast Local Health District chief executive Jill Wong that the scanner not only is functional but will be operating seven days a week, with additional radiographers now employed and plans in place to accept outpatient referrals in the future, significantly increasing service access to the entire Mid North Coast. I'd like to thank Jill for her collaborative approach in working with me to see this come to a reality at the end of her first year. I look forward to many more years of joint advocacy together.

See this speech in context