Public meeting told health plan recommends lobbying for hospital redevelopment. Existing facility labelled 'dangerous rabbit warren'

Local residents should be lobbying NSW Health to include the complete redevelopment of Tumut Health Services on the capital works program within the next 3-5 years, a public meeting in Tumut last Thursday was told.

The lobbying campaign is one of numerous recommendations included in the Draft Tumut Health Services Plan, which was discussed at the public meeting on Thursday at the RSL Club.

During the meeting, Community Health's Jennie Fischer also revealed Greater Southern Area Health Service has received funding from NSW Health for public ultrasound facilities at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, a service which will be a direct benefit to Tumut residents.

Almost 60 people attended the meeting, showing the community's interest in the state of health services in Tumut and strong desire to see an improvement.

The meeting was run by Tumut Local Government Area Health Service Planning Committee Chairman, Allan Tonkin, and also included Tumut Community Health Manager, Jennie Fischer, Tumut Hospital Service Manager, Mary Smit, and Greater Southern Area Health Service Manager of Services and Corporate Planning, Janet Chapman.

The purpose of the meeting was to briefly look at what is contained in the draft plan and give the community an opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns.

The plan includes 40 recommendations, which the community is being asked to prioritise during a 28-day public exhibition.

The document will then be finalised following another public meeting scheduled for November 3 and will then be taken back to GSAHS to be formally adopted.

The Draft Health Services Plan was generally well received by the community, however there were calls for the recommendations to be more concrete and for clear benchmarks to be set to allow for achievement comparison.

Mr Tonkin praised the local community for the 'great turn up' and briefly explained the process behind the· current draft plan and what would be done with the plan in the future.

The plan is a result of almost a year of research and consultation with health care providers and is based on the needs of the health services of the area and what GSAHS, as a public health provider, needs to provide.

The meeting was told the purpose of the Draft Tumut Health Service Plan is to complete a comprehensive outline of health services provided in Tumut, meet the current and future needs of the community and to guide service development, facilities and planning.

Ms Chapman described the five main factors in Tumut's population profile, which are: steady population affected by increased work opportunities, an aging population, a relatively low socioeconomic profile, a significant local Aboriginal population, and a general reliance on agriculture, manufacturing and construction industries.

She then went on to describe the health profile of the Tumut population, revealing the main four reasons behind death and hospitalisation are circulatory disease, cancer, respiratory disease and injury.

Ms Chapman also said Tumut shares a statistic with the entire GSAHS area, showing high incidents of asthma, obesity and alcohol-related illness.

Ms Chapman acknowledged the need of an upgrade at Tumut Hospital and said the "facility is past it's use-by date and needs work".

However, Ms Chapman also detailed the health services currently available in the Tumut area and described them as being of a 'high standard', including emergency, surgical, medical and community-based services.

Ms Chapman produced the numbers of patients treated by different services throughout 2003-04, and says the number of births at 145 is a viable number to maintain maternity and surgical services.

She also pointed out that Tumut Hospital also provides services to Gundagai, Batlow, and Tumbarumba.

Ms Chapman also raised a number of local issues including the shortage of health professionals, the poor condition of the facilities, the lack of service information, difficulties with services for Aboriginal people, the lack of integrated chronic care services and the limited ultrasound services.

However, Ms Chapman also stressed that this was also a great opportunity to focus on maintaining good health.

As well as outlining the future direction of health services in Tumut, the plan reinforces the continuing role of Tumut Hospital as a 'level 3 service' provider.

It also highlights the important role of the Community Health Service in primary prevention, early intervention and treatment services.

The recommendations made in the plan address all health issues and are divided into three sections dealing with workforce, infrastructure and local services.

The workforce recommendations include a focus on the recruitment of additional GPs and allied health staff, the development of an annual training calendar, participation in clinical networks and an annual review of workforce needs.

In the infrastructure area, the plan recommends a facility review and site master plan to be developed to outline the possible short-term solutions to current infrastructure problems.

As mentioned earlier, the plan also recommends that GSAHS, the Tumut Health Service, Tumut Shire Council and the local Health Council lobby NSW Health to include the complete redevelopment of Tumut Health Service on the capital works program within 3-5 years.

Recommendations regarding local services include a potential increase to local surgical services, investigation into rehabilitation and transitional care programs and a review of maternity services with the introduction of criteria for admission if no anaesthetist is available.

Other recommendations include a multi-disciplinary approach to diabetes, a review of chronic disease management, an inter-agency approach to depression and mental illness and a focus on healthy aging.

A Local Services Directory will also be developed and the Schools as Community Centres project will be implemented.

Other recommendations include support for efforts to increase access to ultrasound services, options to increase local pharmacy support and the exploration of an 'innovative' wellness centre.

The questions from the audience covered a wide range of issues, including how funding is distributed throughout the area.

Ms Chapman says money is allocated depending on a number of factors including population features and higher levels of need, as well as distance, however there is always the need to lobby for more money.

Rather than a wish list, Ms Chapman says the recommendations in the plan are meant to be realistic so that they can actually be implemented.

Another concerned resident claimed the Tumut Hospital was put on the capital works program seven years ago however the funding was never allocated.

Ms Chapman replied that Tumut Hospital is second, behind Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, on the priority list for capital works money in this area.

Once complete, the Tumut Health Services Plan will be a useful tool in lobbying politicians for health funding because requirements will have been clearly documented and it will be obvious if promised changes are not implemented.

Local resident, Sue Swann, raised the issue of availability of ultrasound facilities, an issue she has been vocal about in the local press over the past few weeks.

Mrs Swann says it is unsatisfactory to not have bulk-billing ultrasound facilities in Wagga Wagga and expressed concern that many low income earners and pensioners cannot afford to travel to Wagga and pay for the treatment.

Ms Fischer says, soon there will be no need to pay the fees associated with private ultrasound, as new facilities will be available at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital.

Mrs Swan went on to describe the Tumut Hospital as having been "renovated to within an inch of its life", labelled the building as a "positively dangerous rabbit warren" and claimed any money used on renovations would simply be going down the drain.

She claimed Tumut deserved better, saying the local area is good enough for industry to invest in, and now it is time the government also invested.

Members of the community are being urged to comment on the Draft Tumut Health Services Plan before the next public meeting on November 3.

TUMUT & ADELONG TIMES

Tuesday, September 27, 2005