Residents of the Central Coast in New South Wales deserve better access to the latest advancements in medical technology, including robotic surgery. Despite its proven benefits—such as reduced recovery times, lower risk of complications, and increased precision—our community is being left behind as we face limited access to these services.

The Central Coast has a growing population with over 336,000 residents, many of whom may benefit from the availability of robotic surgery. Currently, public patients needing such procedures often have to travel to Sydney or Newcastle. Even smaller centres such as Orange have a robotic platform. This not only adds physical and financial strain on those needing care but also increases the waiting time for urgent medical interventions such as robotic radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer treatment.

Bring Public Robotic Surgery to Gosford Hospital
Residents of the Central Coast deserve access to the same modern healthcare available across much of New South Wales.

Robotic surgery has become the standard of care for many abdominal and pelvic operations in public hospitals because it can provide greater surgical precision, less blood loss, reduced pain, shorter hospital stays and faster recovery. Yet despite being one of the largest regional communities in NSW, the Central Coast still has no public robotic surgical service.

More than 336,000 people call the Central Coast home. Public patients who require robotic surgery are often forced to travel to Sydney or Newcastle for treatment—away from their families, support networks and local healthcare providers. Even smaller regional centres such as Orange already have access to robotic surgery.

This is a clear healthcare inequity.

Private patients on the Central Coast can access robotic surgery through Gosford Private Hospital, but patients relying on the public health system have no local option. Access to the best available surgical care should not depend on whether you have private health insurance or where you live.

For many patients facing cancer or other major operations, travelling long distances adds unnecessary emotional, physical and financial stress at one of the most difficult times in their lives. It can also contribute to delays in receiving time-sensitive treatment, including surgery for cancers such as prostate cancer.

We are calling on NSW Health and the Central Coast Local Health District to invest in a refurbished Da Vinci Xi robotic surgical system, at an estimated cost of $3.1 million, for Gosford Hospital and to provide the staffing and resources required to establish a sustainable public robotic surgery program.

This investment would deliver lasting benefits to our community by:

Providing equitable access to world-class surgical care close to home.
Improving patient recovery and hospital outcomes.
Reducing the need for patients to travel outside the region.
Supporting the recruitment and retention of highly skilled surgeons, nurses and allied health professionals.
Building a stronger, more advanced public health service for the growing Central Coast population.
Healthcare should never depend on your postcode.

By signing this petition, you are helping ensure that Central Coast residents receive the same standard of public surgical care already available in many other parts of NSW.

Please sign today and help bring public robotic surgery to Gosford Hospital.