Wednesday 22 August 2012
Tuesday 21 August 2012
More jobs to go - this time at Lismore
9 News on 21st August 2012:
“Telstra's decision to axe jobs at its customer service centre in Lismore is devastating, the city's mayor says….
Ms Dowell said she had been personally assured that jobs in her city were safe after Telstra closed its Grafton call centre in 2011.
Most Lismore locals would know someone affected by the job losses, she said.
"I understand that at this call centre there are couples, a husband and wife who will both lose their jobs," she said.
"The ripple effect of this is huge."
So far Nats MP for Lismore Thomas George is keeping mum on the subject of 116 local jobs being flushed down the drain by a telco whose "net income climbed to $3.41 billion in the year to June 30".
Worried about mining in the Clarence River Catchment? Then read this before voting in the Clarence Valley Local Government Election 2012
Paul Parkinson, a candidate in the Clarence Valley Local Government Election 2012 apparently taking a pro-mining stance when he was a Kempsey shire councillor.
17-18 MARCH 1999
Howard as G-G? Over my dead body!
Little Godwin Grech – you known the right-wing leaning ex-Treasury bureaucrat who while on the job faked that email for the political benefit of the Opposition in 2009 and was brought undone by a Senate inquiry – well he is (a) writing for Granny Herald and (b) laying the groundwork for one of his alleged fellow-conspirators to make John Winston Howard Australia’s next Governor-General.
Jackboot Johnny as G-G? no and no and no and No and NOOOO!
Monday 20 August 2012
Baker likely to quit run for Clarence Valley Council
Tonight's meet-the-candidates forum in Maclean was the venue for the startling announcement that property developer Andrew Baker is unlikely to continue to chase his dream to secure a seat at the table of the Clarence Valley Council.
The Daily Examiner website reports:
Andrew Baker conceded his bid for a seat on Clarence Valley Council all but ended (tonight) when he announced to a packed candidates forum in Maclean that two of his companies had gone into receivership.
The Daily Examiner website reports:
Andrew Baker conceded his bid for a seat on Clarence Valley Council all but ended (tonight) when he announced to a packed candidates forum in Maclean that two of his companies had gone into receivership.
"I didn't want to start tonight on false pretences," Mr Baker said. "Today, two of the companies I'm a director of have been placed in receivership.
"I'm in the development industry and everyone knows the development industry is doing it tough."
Mr Baker said the development didn't legally rule him out as standing as a candidate, but conceded it would be difficult for him to continue.
See the Examiner's online report, including video coverage of Baker making his announcement about his companies going into receivership here.
Credit: Text and image from The Daily Examiner
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.
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