In doing so he reiterated calls for the State Government to build the new $100 million regional hospital.

“As part of the NSW Liberals and Nationals plans, Labor’s failing area health services will be replaced by smaller community-focussed health districts, oversighted by their own boards, to improve the running of the State’s hospitals,” Mr O’Farrell said.

“My visit has made me acutely aware of concerns held by the Bega community about Labor’s long-promised $100 million regional hospital,” he said.

“The current hospital does not meet the needs of either patients or staff and that’s why the Rees Government must honour its commitment to a new hospital.

“It’s time Bega patients were finally put first by the Rees Labor Government and that the people of the Far South Coast got the quality health services they deserve.

Mr O’Farrell said a Liberals and Nationals government would remove “Labor’s huge and out of touch Greater Southern Area Health Service”.

“It’s vital that decision making power is returned back to a local level and that local health professionals and managers have a real say in the way our health services are run,” Mr O’Farrell said.

Mr Constance also called for changes to rural health policy.

“Our plan is designed to get administrators and managers out of ivory towers in Queanbeyan and Sydney and onto the frontline to support the health workforce,” he said.

“We intend to end Labor’s centralised approach that has failed to recognise the needs of communities like ours.

“It is important that more is done to further develop clinical networks to link medical experts across the State, and that there’s openness and transparency in the publication of health data including budget allocations, spending, medical errors, infections and other patient outcomes.

“NSW Labor has been an unmitigated disaster in rural health and too many people have paid a high price for their mismanagement,” he said.

“We have wonderful hospital staff in our region who are being let down by a mismanaged system.”