Incumbent Bendigo West member Maree Edwards has knocked back claims the Bendigo Stroke Support will be forced to close next year due to a lack of funding.
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A spokesperson for the Stroke Foundation said the Stroke Association of Victoria has "had its funding cut and will have to close its five Victorian facilities next year".
Ms Edwards said funding has not been cut, however the centre is only funded until the end of the financial year, June 30.
"I have had meetings with the stroke centre... it's imperative to know that after those meetings I have written to [health minister] Mary-Anne Thomas before we went into caretaker mode asking for further support for the stroke centre because it is a very important and vital service," she said.
"We went into caretaker mode so there's been no actual response from the minister yet... we will continue to advocate to make sure that the stroke centres, particularly the support centre here in Bendigo, have the support they need to continue to do the great work they do."
SAV has support centres in Shepperton, Morwell, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo which are attended by over 1000 survivors in total each year.
The Bendigo centre provides local people who have suffered strokes a place to meet up, engage with each other, participate in activities and access vocational support.
Ms Edwards said if the centre receives funding next year it will be in the state budget in May.
Foundation calls for funding
The Stroke Foundation is also calling on political parties to provide funding for the organisation ahead of this month's election.
In an election platform document, the foundation outlined it is seeking $13 million over the next 10 years.
The funding would allow the foundation to establish a F.A.S.T education program, to spread the message of the most common signs of strokes: face, arms, speech and time.
According to the foundation, 41 per cent of Victorians can't name a sign of stroke.
Three-million-dollars of the funding would be used for the StrokeConnect Navigator Program, which would provide ongoing support for stroke survivors.
Statistics from the foundation state 36 per cent of Victorian patients do not receive post-stroke information, and 26 per cent leave hospital without a discharge plan.
The navigator program would provide a "better understanding of, and access to, existing post-stroke information and secondary prevention support."
A spokesperson for the Stroke Foundation said the government hasn't funded the organisation for 10 years.
"We are still 11 days out from the election, plenty of time for the parties to rummage around in the bottom drawer for funds to allocate," the spokesperson said.
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Jonathon Magrath
Jonathon has been living and working in Bendigo since March 2021, currently working as a general reporter. Contact him on jonathon.magrath@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Jonathon has been living and working in Bendigo since March 2021, currently working as a general reporter. Contact him on jonathon.magrath@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
