Member for Eden-Monaro Mike Kelly has put his support behind surgeons at the South East Regional Hospital who have been offered new contracts with pay cuts of 30 per cent.  

In a statement, he said the Southern NSW Local Health District was seeking to change the classification of SERH from rural to regional.

Currently, surgeons and doctors at SERH get paid more to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the change of classification would lead to a 30 per cent cut in their wages.

With metropolitan hospitals able to pay substantially more for surgeons, Dr Kelly said there was a real risk of surgeons leaving and the people of the South East being required to travel to seek medical services.

“I understand that the federal coalition government’s savage cuts to health and hospitals are putting enormous strain on the NSW Liberal Governments’ budget, but it is not good enough for Mike Baird to put this kind of pressure on regional health services through cost cutting measures,” Dr Kelly said. 

“I worked hard to gain funding to get the new South East Regional Hospital built and I am disappointed that there have been so many operational problems.

“The hospital is a life line for proper health care in the South East region and this is another example of Sydney Liberals saving money by sacrificing services in our rural and regional communities.”

The president of the NSW Rural Doctors Association, Emma Cunningham, said the “cost cutting” would lead to already long waiting times becoming longer and there was a real risk of staff leaving an already short staffed hospital. 

Dr Kelly said said the “inadequate” consultation period and negotiations were due to finish on September 30. 

Surgeons involved have said they wanted to sign the same rural contracts they have always been offered in Bega before this current administration.