Planning for Tumut's future health services.
The planning process is well underway for the development of a Health Service Plan for Tumut with members of community urged to be involved with upcoming community consultation meetings to be held over the next month.
Representatives from various groups within the community have been invited to take part in the second stage of the plan development with all members of the community welcome to attend the open public meeting to be held next month.
The first series of meetings will be held this Thursday, August 4, with one to be held at the Brungle Health Service Centre at 11 a.m. That session will be followed by two sessions at Tumut's HACC building, one for families at 12.30 p.m and the second with representatives from seniors within the community at 3.30 p.m.
Thursday will also see a meeting of the steering committee at 5 p.m. prior to a breakfast meeting with health service providers at 7.30 a.m on Friday morning.
Members of the steering committee will also meet with representatives of the Health Council as well as Tumut hospital staff and members of the hospital auxiliary on Friday morning.
The main objective of the Health Service Plan is to review current health services in the short term in order to develop a plan that will meet the needs of Tumut's local government area (LGA) in the years to come.
It is envisaged the plan will ultimately provide a framework that will guide service development, facility planning, workforce development and IT/asset planning.
Organisers say it is vital the community be actively involved in the development of the plan, and as such the community consultation workshops will play an integral role in enabling them to contribute.
Members of the Health Plan Steering Committee have diverse backgrounds and represent the wider community in general.
The committee has members representing all stakeholders including Greater Southern Area Health, Tumut Shire Council and the local community.
Committee members include Janet Chapman, Manager Planning Greater Southern Area Health Service, Mary Smit, Tumut Hospital Health Service Manager and Jill Ludford Health Service Manager Community Health as well as Isobel Craine, Rhonda Blunt, Louise Murphy, Daphne Clarke, Trina Thomson, Chris Adams and Allan Tonkin.
The committee was formed in March this year following public nominations in February.
To date the committee has compiled extensive data relating to the current and projected needs of this community in relation to the types of health related services.
Information has been collated for many issues related to the provision of health service from existing staffing for Tumut's Health Service through to the distance and travelling times between the major centres in Tumut Shire as well as to Gundagai, Wagga Wagga, Canberra an Sydney.
Information has also been collated outlining the demographic profile of Tumut Local Government Area, age and gender profile, the indigenous population, multicultural population and population growth as well as population projections.
Ageing is another area that has been looked at closely as has the socioeconomic profile of the region.
The health of the population has also been included in the study with a breakdown of mortality trends and hospitalisation admissions within Tumut's LGA.
To date a draft Health Service Plan has been prepared utilising information specifically relating to this area.
"It is now time to finetune the plan as a way of preparing a sound base for the development and establishment of future services and infrastructure in this region," a spokesperson said.
Apart from the series of consultations held with representatives from sections of the community over the next week, an open public meeting will be held in September to which all members of the general public are encouraged to attend.
TUMUT & ADELONG TIMES
Tuesday, August 2, 2005