Sir-, I read with great interest Sue Swann's letter (T&A Times) regarding the "No More Bandaids", the fight for a new hospital campaign, in which she asks for the community's thoughts on pursuing the program.

From the outset I do not profess to be an expert on public health matters but, I do believe I am a realist.

The whole health system and funding of same is far more complex than one could possibly imagine and I certainly have no expertise in that area.

Sure, everyone wants a new hospital and the best of medical services that money can buy, however, without having an intimate knowledge of the economics and distribution of public funds, one could not possibly make a definitive judgment on the value or likely outcome of supporting the "No More Bandaids" lobby.

There is no doubt the biggest priority for this region is to have the new Wagga Base Hospital built and equipped with the latest technology and specialist personnel. This is becoming a reality and will better serve the entire region.

If it means we have to wait longer for our "new" hospital, so be it, as we could not possibly expect to have the same level of services and specialists- as a regional hospital. We are kidding ourselves if we think we can demand action in our time frame rather than the government's.

One area of concern if the community decides to support the "No More Bandaid" program is the use of car bumper-bar stickers and various visual protest signs throughout the area.

I for one have voiced my concern to Mrs Swann when she asked for my support with a "No More Bandaid" bumper-bar sticker campaign. I believe that it would be environmentally irresponsible to conduct a bumper bar sticker program.

One vividly remembers the "Bob Bailey" Super market promotion with yellow stickers, some of which are still in circulation today, 20 years after the promotion.

Another example is the massive visual pollution of south west Sydney concerning the very public campaigns protesting against the Badgery Creek Airport Project which has thousands of signs still littering the area.

We have an elected council whose duties are to manage in consultation with the Tumut Hospital planning committee (Tumut Health Service Plan) all aspects of pursuing a new hospital.

These people are experts in their field and should be given every encouragement in seeing the project through to finality.

One has to appreciate that the way of the world in many fields is "regionalisation". I don't necessarily believe regionalisation is good for smaller rural communities like ours but in the health arena it does have direct benefit for the wider community by having a specialist centre that is accessible to more of the region's populace.

There are many issues regarding "regionalisation" apart from health that equally deserve attention, and no doubt in time regionalisation generally will be put under the microscope, as many rural communities like ours do have plenty to fear as commerce and job opportunities continue to suffer from the "sponge" effect caused by major regional centres' domination.

Using the words of Dr Peter Ellyard (consultant to Tumut Shire) we need to take a planetary view (community view) where self interest is not the only consideration in decision making. If we don't, the future growth of our region will be put at risk.

Yours etc,

Phil Barton, Tumut

TUMUT & ADELONG TIMES

Friday, November 18, 2005.