Keira MP Ryan Park has called on NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet to show leadership and seek Commonwealth assistance to support what he says is "our ailing healthcare system".
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The Opposition spokesman for Health said the Premier was letting down the people of the state by failing to have a plan for our hospitals and healthcare workers and of course, increasing the number of testing clinics, many of which have closed over the summer period.
"We're saying to the premier very clearly, if you need to call in the Commonwealth for extra support, do so now," Mr Park said.
"Our healthcare system is at breaking point. Our healthcare workers are at a crisis. We need to make sure they have all of the support, all of the resources and that the community has all of the resources to get through this difficult period.
"People turned away after waiting for four, five and six hours to get tested is not good enough. People waiting days and days and days for their test results to come back is not good enough. The government can't ask people to live with COVID but then not provide the resources and support for them to do that safely and appropriately."
On Sunday Mr Perrottet again implored people to get tested only if they were symptomatic or otherwise directed to by NSW Health.
He said the state was still working to secure a bulk order of rapid antigen tests - which would be mailed free to households in a system based on a United Kingdom model - though could not provide a timeframe on when they would be available.
Mr Park urged the Premier to seek Commonwealth support to help NSW 'get through this difficult period in a sensible and practical way'.
"We would expect them to be able to offer additional nurses, additional health care workers, additional logistics support to assist with testing and vaccination hubs. We know that that's been done in the past...'" he said.
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