Lismore Hospital workers not happy with upstairs-downstairs parking arrangements

OUT IN THE STREET FOR TWICE THE PRICE: THE PARKING RAW DEAL FOR LISMORE HOSPITAL WORKERS

Friday 10 June, 2016

Hospital workers who can’t get into the new car park at Lismore Base Hospital will have to pay more than twice as much to park in surrounding streets.

Health Services Union NSW Secretary Gerard Hayes said the new multi-story car park at the hospital will only provide 270 spaces for around 1,600 hospital workers.

“Hospital staff who were able to secure a spot in the new car park will only have to pay $12 a week, but everyone else will be paying more than double that amount to park out in in the street.

“Why should lower-paid hospital workers such as cleaners and security staff be paying $5 a day when lucky doctors and specialists can get parking for just $2.40 a day?

“Talk about a raw deal. The hospital and the Lismore City Council need to work this out and provide a better arrangement so that all staff are treated equitably.”

Hospital workers will today rally outside Lismore Base Hospital to demand action on the parking situation.

Mr Hayes said a system of providing vouchers for hospital staff to access street parking at the same rate as the new multi-storey car park would be a sensible solution.

“Lismore City Council charges $2 to park all day in the CBD, so it looks like there’s an element of price gouging going on around the hospital. The new car park is due to be opened soon, so the Council needs to act in this situation now.”

Meanwhile at state level in New South Wales.....

The gloves are off over Tweed Hospital funding…..

THEN

Gold Coast Bulletin

THE NSW Government has promised $48 million in funding for stages one and two of the $211 million Tweed Hospital redevelopment if re-elected next month.

NSW deputy premier Troy Grant, health minister Jillian Skinner and Tweed MP Geoff Provest made the announcement at Tweed Hospital this morning.

The Tweed Hospital has struggled to cope under the pressure of a growing population and a lack of beds with emergency department attendances up by nearly 10 per cent last year alone.

Plans for a redevelopment of the Tweed Hospital were approved in late 2013, however the Northern Rivers Health Board has made the redevelopment of both the Lismore and Byron Hospitals a priority before works start at Tweed.

Mrs Skinner said despite the issues facing the hospital, Tweed redevelopment remained the third priority in the region.

“This $48 million will redevelop the emergency department, increase the ward space and bed capacity as well as a new carpark,” she said.

NOW

Tweed Daily News:

4 May 2016

TWEED MP Geoff Provest is calling for greater Tweed representation on the Northern NSW Local Health District Board, saying this area is losing out to its counterparts in Lismore and Byron when it comes to hospital funding.

Mr Provest said "questions needed to be asked" over the NNSWLHD's handling of the Tweed Hospital upgrade, following revelations estimated costs of Stage One of the works had almost doubled from $48 million to $80m.

NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner declined to comment on the blow-out but her office confirmed estimates for the 2016-2017 Budget would not be increased to meet the shortfall, despite pleas by the Tweed Medical Staff Council to fully fund the actual costings…..

4 May 2016

TWEED Hospital surgeons have been backed by the Australian Medical Association as the doctors brace themselves for the reality of another funding campaign.

Dr Stephen White said the Tweed Hospital urgently needed a redevelopment because patients were "pressured" to leave early after procedures for new admissions, a technique known in the industry as 'hot-bedding'.

"It wouldn't be unusual to have three people admitted into the same bed, on the same day, and I think that's extreme," Dr White said.

"People get told the day after surgery they have to go home and the reality is they can't."

Dr White criticised Northern NSW Health District's latest upgrade budgeting blunder, saying up to 30% of surgeons' work "was not recognised" or factored into their forward estimates because the patients were Queenslanders…..

24 May 2016

Shadow Health Minister and North Coast MP Walt Secord has challenged Tweed MP Geoff Provest to provide a timeline on the Tweed Hospital upgrade from NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner.

Only $48 million is due to be released for stage one of the hospital’s upgrade in the June Budget, even through the figure is understood to be closer to $140m.

Mrs Skinner told ABC Radio on May 10 it was unfortunate the Northern Rivers Local Health District board had underestimated the funds required for stage one of the redevelopment but lessons had been learnt.

Mr Secord said the North Coast needed a statement from Mr Provest or Mrs Skinner “stating they are going to fully fund Tweed Hospital, with dates and deadlines”.

“Too often, the community has been tricked by weasel words from the Liberals and Nationals,” he said.

“We need these dates so we can track the progress and ensure that the upgrade is on track.”

25 May 2016

FIRST it was a weasel, now it’s a dim sim: a war of words has erupted between Tweed MP Geoff Provest and Shadow Health Minister Walt Secord over funding for the Tweed Hospital.

Mr Provest today quipped back at Mr Secord, also Labor’s MP for the North Coast, over his call for a definitive timeline on the Tweed Hospital upgrade, saying the request was just part of a dirty “smear campaign”.

Yesterday the shadow health minister said Mr Provest had used “weasel words” in dodging a formal commitment to fund the full cost of the hospital’s redevelopment, following a blow out in costs from $48m to an estimated $140m for Stage One of the project.

But Mr Provest retaliated, accusing Mr Secord of mounting a personal attack against him.

“I think he’s the king of smear,” Mr Provest retorted, referring to Mr Secord.

“He has no idea of what is actually happening at the Tweed Hospital.

“I can’t even remember the last time he visited here. He’s not met with the Tweed doctors and not had any communication with them.

“He went to Beijing and fell over on a dim sim, and now he’s back in parliament at Sydney, and just full of the smear that Labor is renowned for.”

But Mr Secord hit back, saying in fact, during the last parliamentary recess, he had been 1600km west of Shanghai in rural China when he tripped and broke his ankle and fibula.

“I am in a wheelchair, but this will not stop me from ensuring Tweed MP Geoff Provest delivers a full upgrade of Tweed Hospital,” he said

How much can a koala bear before he needs a doctor?

This koala appears to have entered accident & emergency department of a public hospital in the Western District Health Service in Victoria:

https://youtu.be/itq1kAuYFgs

Abbott Government health funding cuts will hit home on the NSW North Coast

New South Wales residents can expect the state public hospital system to experience a further strain on service delivery in 2015 courtesy of both federal Abbott Coalition and state Baird Coalition governments' health policies.

On 5 June 2014 The Sydney Morning Herald reported:

The Bureau of Health Information report released on Thursday shows that from January to March more than 600,000 people visited NSW public hospital emergency departments, a 2 per cent jump compared to the same time last year.

About 73 per cent of patients left emergency departments within four hours, up from 66 per cent last year, but still falling far short of the 81 per cent target…..

The new figures show that while about 97 per cent of people are getting surgery on time, some patients are still waiting more than six months.

Median waiting times for ear, nose and throat surgery are now 153 days. Gynaecology, urology and prostate surgery waits increased between seven to 10 per cent.

''NSW still has the longest waiting times for elective surgery in Australia and close to the longest in developed countries,'' said Dr McDonald. ''A 302-day median wait time for a knee replacement is just unacceptable.''

On 11 January 2015The Australian noted:

NSW has abandoned a national target for attending to people who need treatment in hospital emergency departments after the federal government cut reward payments.
Under a national partnership deal struck between the states and the commonwealth in 2011 under the Gillard government, all states were meant to have reached a benchmark of seeing 90 per cent of patients in emergency departments within four hours from January 1 this year.
The agreement included rewards of $50 million a year for reaching this target, but in the federal budget last year the government abolished the payments.
NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner said, because of that, “there is currently no formal target tied to rewards payments”.
NSW intended to keep to last year’s target of 81 per cent instead of using the new target of 90 per cent, she said.
Although emergency department performance has been improving, it has not met national benchmarks…..

In practice this means that during a year public hospital emergency departments are expected to experience an increase in the number of patients presenting because the Abbott Government has cost-shifted its Medicare rebate cuts onto individuals and families from January 2015¹, its public hospital funding cuts have also made matters worse for those seeking treatment at hospital accident and emergency departments.

The figure below clearly shows the best that the ill or hurt in NSW could expect in late 2014 – an average wait to receive treatment of between 41 minutes and 2 hours 29 minutes for the majority attending A&E departments.

The 95th percentile represents the time period within which most people received the relevant care or treatment.

Hospital Quarterly: Activity and performance in NSW Hospitals July to September 2014

On the NSW Far North Coast this averaged out for the majority of patients seeking treatment as a wait of between 29 minutes and 2 hours 11 minutes:

http://www.bhi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/251385/HQ18_EDLHD_Appendix_Tables_031214.pdf

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is predicting that public hospital emergency department waiting times will now rise not by a factor of minutes but by hours in 2015.

1. Increased GP fees are expected to commence from mid-January 2015 and increase again in July for over 15 million Australians, as Medicare rebates cover less of general practice & specialist doctors standard fees. Many patients will be paying a standard upfront fee of $75 or more for a simple 10 minute visit to their local doctor as fewer medical practices are expected to continue bulk billing. The Medicare rebate formula would have meant that the the federal government met half of that cost for non-concessional patients. However, from 1 July 2015 the medicare rebate on a $75 fee will be reduced to $32.04 leaving the patient $42.95 out-of-pocket.
If a medical practice decides to use the AMA recommended schedule of fees and abandon bulk-billing all together, then concessional patients (such as aged and disability pensioners or children under 16 years) will also have to pay an upfront fee of $75 for a 10 minutes consultation and be $34.95 out-of-pocket.
For non-concessional patients seen by their doctor for between 6 and 10 minutes the rebate reduction will increase their out-of-pocket expense to $20.10 from 19 January rising to $25.10 after 30 June 2015.

UPDATE

A statement that needs to be taken with a grain of salt…….

The Sydney Morning Herald 15 January 2015 at 12:34pm:

The government has capitulated and scrapped its plans to next week cut the Medicare rebate by $20 for short visits to the doctor after a fierce backlash by doctors and non-government Senators, who vowed to veto the measure.

In her first act as the new Health Minister, Sussan Ley broke her holidays to announce on Thursday that the cuts - quietly introduced by her predecessor Peter Dutton late last year - are now "off the table".

Ms Ley said she was still committed to introducing price signals into Medicare including the revised $5 GP co-payment due to start July 1, but pledged to "pause, listen and consult".....

Why is the NSW Baird Government removing surgical facilities from the new $80 million Byron Central Hospital?

In September 2014 it was reported that the early works contract for the new $80 million Byron Central Hospital had been awarded and, that main works construction on the greenfields site was to begin in 2015.

On 16 October 2014 the Echo Netdaily reported on the possible privatisation of surgical services within this hospital:

The NSW Parliament is today set to debate controversial government plans to privatise the proposed Byron Central Hospital after a move by the Labor opposition yesterday to force the coalition to release all documents related to the development.

It comes as a residents group revealed the Ewingsdale landowner of the surrounding land where plans are being pushed through for almost 200 dwellings, a nursing home and shopping centre is the daughter of one of Australia’s richest beef barons who has been buying up prime farmland nearby.

Byron Shire Council last week narrowly approved pushing the so-called ‘seniors’ development through to its development application (DA) stage, outraging local resident groups who say it should have been deferred for more time to consider the contentious plan which contravened the shire’s new Local Environment Plan (LEP).

But comments by Ballina MP Don Page, following the council decision, that he wanted the private sector to provide surgical services at the hospital has sparked the move in parliament to try and throw light on the hospital plans and the push for privately-run services.

Labor’s shadow health minister Walt Secord says his call for papers, known as a Standing Order 52, in the NSW Legislative Council yesterday will be debated this week.

‘It’s an extraordinary step, but this is about finding out the National Party plans for Byron Central Hospital’, Mr Secord told Echonetdaily.

He said Mr Page’s comments to the ABC in favour of a privately-run service followed an announcement by state health minister Jillian Skinner last month that the central hospital’s project team was ‘undertaking a market sounding process to determine whether there is interest from private providers to deliver surgical services at the facility’.

Read the rest of the article here.

The aforementioned debate did take place and Greens MLC Jan Barham from the Northern Rivers spoke up for the people of Byron Bay Shire and revealed what government members were obfuscating that day -  that surgical facilities had been entirely removed from the architectural plans for this hospital.

NSW Legislative Council Hansard [Proof Copy] 16 October 2014:

Ms JAN BARHAM [10.55 a.m.]: I support the motion moved by the Hon. Walt Secord. I urge members to have a history lesson on this matter because both sides have misrepresented the situation. As to Byron Central Hospital, I spent 10 years attending meetings and dealing with the processes conducted under the former Government for its delivery, only to be thwarted time and time again. For example, a Central Coast hospital was proposed and it was suggested that Byron would lose its two hospitals and get one large hospital in Ballina. I apologise to the Minister for Ageing, who outlined the Government's position, but he is incorrect. The previous process was always followed carefully and stringently, with wide consultation on delivery of the supply plan for the new Byron Central Hospital.

Until February 2014, architectural plans that were shown to community members—who had served for more than 20 years on committees discussing the delivery of a new hospital—included surgery services. The services plan that was completed in 2002 and put out for public consultation included surgery.

The idea of removing surgery services from the hospital, as proposed in the current planning process, is abhorrent to the local community. People feel that promises have been broken and they deserve answers. Members may note that I have put questions on the Notice Paper about these issues. I recently attended a forum at which design plans for the hospital were released, and committee members were shocked to see that the previous architectural plans had been changed to remove surgery services. It was the first they had heard of it. There has been a lack of consultation and notification about this process. People who have the community's interests at heart and who have voluntarily given so much time and energy to local health issues and to this project, were shocked. That night they expressed their displeasure about what was occurring. [my red bolding]

The Government is unwilling to tell the community why surgery services have been dropped or what process is being undertaken to ensure that Byron shire retains those important services. A new proposal should be developed and presented in a manner that conforms with normal processes so the public can access it conveniently. The process must be transparent. There has been misinformation but the important issues are service delivery and good public health services—about which I have put a question on notice. Tourism is also an important consideration. Unfortunately, visitors who engage in dangerous and adventurous activities often use local health services and facilities. I welcome this important motion but I caution members to recognise, observe and acknowledge the history of this matter. The Byron shire community have put in a lot of effort to ensure they get a hospital that meets their needs. I look forward to these issues being considered and resolved.

On a vote in the Lower House the motion passed and the Baird Government is now obliged to supply to Parliament all documents, including but not limited to ministerial briefing notes, email correspondence, financial documents, memos, file notes, meeting papers and meeting minutes relating to the new Byron Central Hospital and Maitland Hospital.

These documents should be interesting to say the least, as one local resident in a submission to the NSW Minister for Planning & Environment in September 2014 outlined how planned surgical services were whittled away before being removed from the building design:

As a member of Byron Bay Hospital Aux, I have been interested in the planning process for the new Byron Shire Central Hospital since the first consultants were engaged by the Dept to consult with the local community, so probably for over 20 years. Along every step of this process I have attended numerous public meetings as well as meetings of the planning committee and was always assured that there would be no downgrading of the services available at the Byron Bay or Mullumbimby Hospitals until the new Hospital was built and we would keep all the current services available at both Hospitals and indeed add to these services, when the new hospital was built. I was astounded to see that the plans currently on exhibition make no mention of operating theatres or day surgery. The initial proposal incorporated two "state of the art" operating theatres. This later became theatres for day surgery procedures and now we have non{e} at all!. As Byron Bay Hospital has facilities for day surgery and has had some form of theatre since it's inception, I find it totally unacceptable that the new Central Hospital has none at all and I say this whilst being well aware that the Area Health Board is looking for expressions of interest for a private provider to build operating theatres on the site, for them to buy back services from. I wish to strongly object to the fact that there is not allowance for operating theatres in these plans. These plans must include provision for at least day surgery in the event that no private provider is found, otherwise the people of the Byron Shire have been duped by the Health Department. This Hospital underwent a very lengthy and painful community consultation, there was much ill feeling in both communities over the loss of both hospitals. The community only agreed to the one Central Hospital provided there was no loss of services. They would not agree to what is now proposed in these plans. 

Once again the North Coast Nationals appear to have blindly endorsed a flawed health services plan for the Northern Rivers region.

Does Tony Abbott & Co intend to shut down Medicare Locals?

ABBOTT THEN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THg9v2myR1A&feature=share&list=PLn2RjxYNpcawPF8VIJgkcR5IUj115X2iA

ABBOTT NOW

ABC News 22 April 2014:

The ABC has learned a number of Medicare Local chief executives have been told the Federal Government plans to shut down the current system.

Speculation has been mounting that the local health bodies, which were set up under the Rudd government to organise community-specific health programs, will be scrapped in next month's budget.

Late last week chief executives of the 61 community-based health organisations held a series of a conference calls to discuss the Government's plans for the scheme.

Some of the Government's proposals for 2014-15 under serious consideration include:

·         ending funding to Medicare Locals

·         establishing larger statutory agencies to funnel state and federal funding

·         heavier involvement of private health insurers

·         more focus on GP involvement

·         putting services out to public tender

·         abolishing the peak body Australian Medicare Local Alliance

The potential changes have caused widespread angst among the local healthcare organisations.

A circular obtained by the ABC, sent to the heads of each Medicare Local by its peak body, urges each organisation to lobby their local member of Parliament.

"I would urge MLs [Medicare Locals] to continue to engage across the political spectrum and highlight, not only the good work of MLs but what would be lost if MLs were not there," it said.

There are concerns the changes will lead to more centralised control and a move away from the locally driven programs offered by each organisation.

Sources say communities would no longer be involved in deciding what programs would run.

"Many of the programs have been running for two years and are just starting to hit their straps and show results," one industry source said.

Hospital mortality rates - not always good news for those living in rural and regional NSW

Bureau of Health Information (December 2013), 30-day mortality following hospitalisation, five clinical conditions, NSW, July 2009 – June 2012: Acute myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke, haemorrhagic stroke, pneumonia and hip fracture surgery:

Acute myocardial infarction - There were 91 hospitals (90%) with mortality no different to expected. Three hospitals (Royal Prince Alfred, Royal North Shore, Prince of Wales), had lower than expected mortality and seven hospitals (Milton and Ulladulla, Cessnock, Bowral, Tamworth, Hornsby, St George, and one not reportable*) had higher than expected mortality.

For ischaemic stroke - There were 57 hospitals (80%) with mortality no different from expected. Four hospitals (Concord, Prince of Wales, Belmont, and Manly) had lower than expected mortality and ten hospitals (Moruya, Tamworth, Dubbo, Lismore, Nepean, Coffs Harbour, Westmead, Royal Prince Alfred, John Hunter, and one not reportable*) had higher than expected mortality.

Haemorrhagic stroke - There were 82 hospitals (94%) within the expected range of results. Two hospitals (Fairfield, and one not reportable*) had lower than expected mortality and three hospitals (Port Macquarie, John Hunter, and one not reportable*) had higher than expected mortality.

Pneumonia - There were 126 hospitals (89%) within the expected range. Seven hospitals (Canterbury, John Hunter, Bankstown, St Vincent’s, Maitland, Shellharbour, one not reportable) had lower than expected mortality and nine hospitals (Inverell, Manning, Tamworth, Blacktown, Wyong and four not reportable*) had higher than expected mortality.

Hip fracture surgery - Results for 33 hospitals (87%) were within the expected range of mortality. One hospital (St Vincent’s) had lower than expected mortality and four hospitals (Tamworth, Orange, Gosford, and Coffs Harbour) had higher than expected mortality.

Click on images to enlarge

Australian Federal Election 2013: National Rural Health Alliance gives Coalition fail mark on health policies

http://ruralhealth.org.au/advocacy/election

About Us - National Rural Health Alliance

About that $1 billion that Abbott states was never cut from federal health funding

On 7 October 2003 the current Federal Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott became Minister for Health and Aging in the Howard Government – a position he held until December 2007.

These are the facts about the Australian Health Care Agreements 2003-2008 :

Each of the predecessor Agreements provided indexation formulae to account for growth and ageing of the population. The 1998–2003 Agreements also recognised that there was further "utilisation drift", that is increases in utilisation were occurring in the hospital sector over and above that which can be explained by population growth and ageing. This utilisation drift was in part the result of new technologies that allowed for treatments for conditions for which there was previously no hospital treatment. Utilisation also increased because of shifts in treatment from general practitioners' rooms and other ambulatory settings to same day hospital admission.

The 1998–2003 Agreements provided an escalation factor of 2.1% per annum over and above the growth caused by the increase in the rate of population for key elements of the grant. The 2003–08 Agreements reduced the utilisation drift factor to 1.7% and narrowed the applicable components of the grant, saving the Commonwealth Government about $1 billion from that provided for in the Forward Estimates. This reduction in growth provision was vociferously opposed by States and also by clinicians who were experiencing significant financial pressures on hospitals as a result of State Government funding constraints

In a 26 October 2007 radio interview with Mike Carlton, Tony Abbott admitted that there had been “a forward estimates adjustment” and agreed that “the share of federal government [health] funding has gone down from 45 per cent to 41 per cent since 1996”.

Only one NSW Northern Rivers hospital met the state 2013 National Emergency Access Target, Jan-Mar 2013

The 2013 NSW target is for 76% of all patients to depart hospital emergency departments within four hours of arrival by the end of the year.

The NHPA Media Backgrounder released on 25 July 2013 shows that only a handful of hospitals have met the lower state target set for the first quarter, with only one Northern Rivers hospital listed:

In the 2012 the New South Wales performance time target for emergency departments was 69%.

Figure 4: Percentage of all patients departing ED within four hours of arrival, regional NSW and the cities of Tweed Heads and Wollongong, 2011–12

The truth about Grafton Hospital funding

From The Daily Examiner letters to the editor pages in April-May 2013.

HE SAID:

Truth about hospital

I take deep umbrage to the statement by Shirley Adams that Janelle Saffin is the only one to do anything for Grafton and the Valley.
Shirley has never been backward in blowing her own trumpet but she knows very well what was achieved in my time as member.
The community centre, South Grafton levee, the hockey complex, the Airport Road, upgrades to state and private schools, a new railway station, the tourist centre, the list can go on.
The Grafton hospital is a good case in point. John Howard asked me to identify a project in my electorate to be funded from the surpluses we were achieving in government. I chose Grafton Base Hospitable because the State Labor Government had been promising upgrades but nothing ever happened.
The estimated cost of upgrade at the time was $18million.
John Howard came to Grafton and announced that the Federal Government would provide $18million to upgrade the hospital but he would give the money to a local committee because he did not trust the State Labor Government to spend the money on the hospital. If John Howard had not made this commitment, there would have been no interest from Labor.
These commitments were made because we had money in the bank, not the legacy from Janelle Saffin - at present $272billion of debt. Interest alone on this debt is $8billion a year. How many Pacific Highways would that fund?
Shirley Adams, Dr Allan Tyson and The Daily Examiner were all at that press conference and heard the statement. None has had the decency to acknowledge that as fact. There was no election called and the money was immediately available.
Remember, hospitals and highways are state responsibilities under the constitution and John Howard was the first prime minister to offer federal help for health, the Pacific Hwy and money to local councils for rural roads.
The very fact that Janelle Saffin claims there was interest accumulating proves the money was in a dedicated account for Grafton hospital and not part of the budget process of the new government.
I am delighted that Grafton Base Hospital has finally been upgraded, but an outbreak of the truth in these matters, instead of blatant politics, would be a pleasant change.

 Ian Causley

Chatsworth

SHE SAID #1:

Unrealised promise

Ian Causley (The Daily Examiner, letters April 23) stated; "John Howard came to Grafton and announced that the Federal Government would provide $18 million to upgrade the hospital but he would give the money to a local committee because he did not trust the State Labor Government to spend the money on the hospital.
The very fact that Janelle Saffin claims there was interest accumulating proves the money was in a dedicated account for Grafton hospital and not part of the budget process of the new government."
Yes, John Howard was reported as making that announcement on October 10, 2007.
Four days before he announced his intention to call a federal election and seven days before the writs were issued, Parliament dissolved and the caretaker period commenced. (Australian Electoral Commission 2012).
Additionally, this promised hospital upgrade funding was not included in the Howard Government 2007 budget papers, in October there was no "local committee" for it to go to if it had actually been allocated and, on October 11, 2007 the NSW Government rejected this "election promise" (ABC News).
Then on November 24, 2007 the Coalition lost government and John Howard lost his seat. So Mr Causley's $18 million existed only as an unrealised promise and it is wrong of him to suggest otherwise.
Especially as in June 2008 the then NSW Nationals MP for Clarence identified federal Grafton Hospital upgrade funding as being provided by the Rudd Government.

Judith M. Melville

Yamba

SHE SAID #2:

The real truth

It is a bit sad that former member for Page Ian Causley (DEX April 23) feels the need to claim credit from retirement for delivering the Grafton Base Hospital redevelopment.
I acknowledge that Ian, after years of inaction, elicited an $18 million commitment out of former prime minister John Howard in the dying days of that government.
However, that pledge was unfunded and had strings attached. Mine was funded and came with no strings.
The big difference here is that my 2007 election commitments of $18 million for stage one and $5 million for the Grafton GP Super Clinic, made with former prime minister Kevin Rudd's full support, were rock solid.
I was the politician who actually delivered the goods. Federal Labor's $18 million was in the 2008-09 budget, the money went to the then NSW Labor Government, where it earned $1.2 million in interest while the project was being planned.
Ian is plainly wrong when he suggests that the money was in some dedicated federal account. It was not.
I lobbied former NSW health minister John Della Bosca for the interest to be directed to the project, which was unprecedented, and for his government to contribute a further $500,000 to planning.
I got both for our community.
I made sure, with Dr Allan Tyson's attention to detail and Shirley Adams OAM's vigilance, that a total of $19.7 million in funding was wisely spent on building a first-class emergency department, operating theatres, and some extras.
Ian's attack on Shirley, who is widely respected as one of the Clarence Valley's leading citizens, was unwarranted and petty.
He should know that it is not just about the funding.
Hard-working MPs then work with their community to bed down the project with bureaucrats, construction managers and staff.
This is how we, as a united local community, fought for and won first-class health facilities offering high standards of patient care.
And for the record, I secured and delivered a further $10 million for stage two of the Grafton Base upgrade, made up of $6 million from this federal government and $4 million from the then NSW government.

Janelle Saffin MP

Federal Member for Page

How we see our public hospitals on the NSW North Coast

 

Even though Hospital Performance 2012 shows New South Wales has some of the longest emergency department waiting times in the country and the Healthcare in Focus 2012 report indicates that we are more likely to die than our metropolitan cousins within a month of public hospital treatment for heart attack or stroke in regional NSW, it appears that the majority of patients are relatively satisfied with the care they received as outpatients.

 

Comparisons of standardised ratings of outpatients’ overall ratings of care in NSW public hospitals, February 2010*

 

 

*Outpatient care module of the NSW Health Patient Survey 2010

 

 

Patient Care Experiences: Outpatient services in NSW public hospitals  August 2011

 

Skinner: Now I'm Health Minister It's Not A Dumb Idea

The Northern Star asked a hard question which resulted in more than a petticoat showing on 11^th December:

“STATE Health Minister Jillian Skinner has been forced to defend a cost-cutting proposal to allow single-crew ambulance cars to transport patients to hospital during her visit to the Northern Rivers today.

The new proposal will allow single-crew ambulance cars currently in use to transport willing and able patients.

Ms Skinner said such cars were staffed by senior paramedics and often first on scene, but currently unable to transport any patients, even those with light injuries.

She stressed that the move would enable a more efficient use of resources without compromising patient care….

Mr Hayes also labelled the proposal as a backflip by Ms Skinner, since in 2010 she called a similar proposal by then Labor Health Minister Carmel Tebbutt as "one of the dumbest"…. “

Growing old in the Lucky Country

ABC News 3rd October 2012

Never trust a North Shore townie with the NSW Health portfolio

On the 15th September 2012 The Daily Telegraph ran this:
“HEALTH Minister Jillian Skinner is prepared to push people out of hospital early to help achieve a $3 billion budget cut.
Explaining the government's cuts to the health portfolio yesterday, Ms Skinner said that "most of the money" saved would be through "better models of care, through, for example, not keeping patients in hospital as long as they should be".
"I think a lot of people are very pleased not to be kept in hospital longer than they need to," Ms Skinner said.
"I have a brand new granddaughter. Her mother was in hospital for two nights, she spent the next two nights in a five-star hotel room. This is a private hospital, this is what they do now ... It's actually better for the mum ... and more efficient for the hospital to pay for a five-star hotel room than a $2000-$3000 acute bed."
Jaysus wept! Since when was country NSW littered with posh hotels? Where are patients in the Northern Rivers going to find a five star hotel near one of the public base or district hospitals? And what makes Skinner think that NNSWLHD CEO Chris Crawford will put his hand in his pocket to pay for one, when even getting into hospital in the first place can be a minor miracle due to closures and cost cutting.
Coraki’s public hospital went AWOL in 2011 and is now presumed dead, no in-house doctors in A&E at some other hospitals, and I’m told that mental health nurses and sexual assault counsellors are considered an endangered species in the Lower Clarence.

Deaths from major trauma in NSW trauma centres have declined since 2003 - but you're still more likely to die in regional NSW

Deaths from major trauma in NSW trauma centres have declined since 2003, and definitive care at a Level 1 trauma centre was associated with a survival benefit according to a recent article in The Medical Journal of Australia.

Level 1 trauma centres are confined to large metropolitan centres. On the NSW North Coast in 2009 there were 'adult patient' regional trauma centres listed at Coffs Harbour Base Hospital, Lismore Base Hospital and The Tweed Hospital. These appear to remain the only trauma centres in the region.

During the period studied the number of interhospital transfers between regional trauma centres and Level I centres did not increase significantly despite such transfers being shown to potentially halve the mortality rate.

Because of the systematic neglect of regional NSW by successive state governments and across the board cuts to public service delivery by the current O’Farrell Coalition Government, this is the risk North Coast residents are exposed to if they are involved in a serious motor vehicle/work/sports/in home accident:

Regional trauma centres play an important role in the delivery of trauma care, but often lack specialty resources. Most are located outside Sydney, and road travel time from regional trauma centres to a Level I centre ranges from 30 minutes to 2 hours. In a recent single region study in NSW, morbidity was significantly higher in a regional trauma centre compared with a Level I centre.10……..

Patients admitted to a regional trauma centre had a significantly higher mortality rate compared with those admitted to a Level I centre. The survival benefit at Level I centres could be explained by the presence of greater resources, such as the availability of surgically trained staff 24 hours a day, a multidisciplinary trauma service14,15 and higher patient volumes, resulting in enhanced expertise in trauma care.16 Deficiencies in trauma care, regardless of trauma centre level, may occur at multiple points of care and are more likely to occur when there is failure to comply with protocols, poor communication and/or delayed referral.10,14,17,18 However, without reviewing each of the deaths in this study, it is not possible to comment on factors contributing to mortality.

The benefits of primary transport or early interhospital transfer of patients with major trauma to a Level I trauma centre are confirmed in our study. In 2008 Ambulance NSW introduced “Protocol T1”, which specifies that patients with major trauma should be taken directly to a Level I centre, bypassing lower-level centres, if transport time is within 1 hour.19 The impact of Protocol T1 on patient transport practice and outcomes requires evaluation.

The geography of NSW means that regional trauma centres will continue to play an important role in initial stabilisation of patients with trauma. Our study suggests that improved adherence to transfer guidelines will contribute to improved patient outcomes consistent with the experience in Victoria17 and the United States.20 In recent years, a series of standardised transfer guidelines for patients with major trauma have been implemented in NSW, with variable compliance.10,21 The low numbers of transferred patients could also result from some patients with critical injuries being deemed too unstable for transfer, transfer being considered futile, or patients dying before a transfer decision was made.10,21

Initial trauma response and hospital transfers in regional areas are under pressure as the Ambulance Service of NSW is being asked to respond to increased demand with existing staff numbers.

Trauma services are one aspect of the true cost to local communities and local families of public service job cuts currently underway in the Clarence Valley and elsewhere and, why the almost cavalier attitude of North Coast Nationals MPs to these cuts is unacceptable and offensive.