Over-burdened health services are a common cause of complaint on the Mid North Coast, with public hospitals experiencing record emergency department numbers, ongoing staff shortages, and ongoing frustration from nurses, aged care workers, and midwives as they fight for better pay and conditions.

Now, with another election approaching, candidates are again pledging to fix the crisis.

At the 2022 federal election, Independent candidate for Cowper Caz Heise and sitting Cowper MP Pat Conaghan were the last two candidates standing after preferences were distributed. After days of counting, Conaghan ultimately held onto the seat with 52.6 per cent of the vote.

As the race heats up once more, the two candidates say healthcare is a top priority — but both have different approaches.

Pat Conaghan: Less waste, and changes across programs

Incumbent MP Pat Conaghan, who has represented Cowper since 2019, says he has spent his time in office listening to healthcare providers and identifying common challenges.

“Over the past six years, I’ve held multiple forums and heard directly from our care industry providers, employees and clients,” Cowper MP Pat Conaghan told The Mid North Coaster.

Conaghan said his top priorities are to:

• Reduce waste in the health bureaucracy, redirecting it to frontline health services;

• Attract more health workers to the regions through incentives and training;

• Address pay inconsistencies between NDIS and other care sectors;

• Expand GP training programs

• Restore mental health support from 10 Medicare-subsidised sessions back to 20;

• Increase access to telehealth.

While Conaghan acknowledged healthcare has been a “slow-moving train wreck for some time”, he claims the reforms he is proposing can now turn things around.

Caz Heise: “We can’t keep relying on stop-gap measures”

Caz Heise, a former nurse, hospital manager, and now regional healthcare leader, argues that incremental tweaks won’t be enough to fix a system that is failing regional Australians.

“We can’t keep relying on stop-gap measures,” Heise said. “We need a system that keeps people well, not just treats them when they’re sick. That means real investment in prevention, ensuring our healthcare workforce is trained and retained locally, and making sure regional communities don’t miss out.”

Heise is pushing for big reforms:

• Boosting Medicare rebates to make GP visits more affordable and incentivising doctors to work in regional areas with HECS/HELP debt relief.

• Improving aged care by increasing worker pay, improving conditions, and ensuring providers are held accountable for high-quality care;

• Reforming to NDIS to cut wait times, remove bureaucratic barriers and crack down on providers exploiting the system;

• Expanding mental health services by ensuring regional communities receive a fairer share of the fundings.

With Cowper shaping up as a competitive race, voters will need to decide which approach is more likely fix healthcare on the Mid North Coast.

Thumbnail credit: NSW Health