Local Health Services Top Priority Heading Into State Election

Published on 08 March 2023

For the better part of a decade the Leeton community has increasingly expressed their growing concerns about the diminishing availability of health services locally.

In December 2020, Leeton Shire Council made a substantial submission into the NSW Inquiry ‘Health outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional and remote New South Wales’, with detailed examples of what community members have experienced when trying to access health services locally. Leeton Shire Council has also made it a Delivery Plan priority to improve the access to Health Services for the community.

In December 2021, community led health services advocacy group Leeton Health Services Action Committee (LHSAC) was formed and approached Council to join forces to advocate for positive change to local health services. The two committees, LSC and LHSAC are informally known as the BHIRD committee “Bettering Health through Integrated Research & Development”.

“Both Leeton Shire Council and Leeton Health Services Action Committee knew we had a better chance of making changes when we worked together on positive solutions,” said Maryann Iannelli, LHSAC Chair.

Over twelve months of looking into Leeton’s current health services, the BHIRD committee has identified four key areas that require attention as a priority. Those areas are Leeton Hospital Emergency Services, Mental Health, Aged Care and Leeton Ambulance service.

All of these services play an integral role in making Leeton liveable and, sadly, have lost a degree of community confidence which needs to be reassured.  

To provide the community access to the right health services at the right time, an integrated approach is needed that addresses workforce shortages, workforce upskilling, housing availability and childcare waitlists.

This is not a simple undertaking as Mayor Cr Reneker points out.

"It's a complex web of issues that needs to be addressed and rectified to provide the community the ability to access our health services when they need them the most", he said.

The Chairman’s note in the NSW Inquiry ‘Health outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional and remote New South Wales’ states “…the committee has found that residents of rural, regional and remote New South Wales have poorer health outcomes and inferior access to health and hospital services, and face significant financial challenges in accessing
these services, compared to their metropolitan counterparts. This is a situation that can and should not be seen as acceptable.”
The inquiry identified 22 findings and 44 recommendations for the NSW Government to review.

The BHIRD committee’s main purpose is to provide solution-driven outcomes for these four key focus areas. From the start, both committees came together to build a tailored ‘Model of Service Delivery’ to suit the needs of the Leeton community, utilising our existing skilled health care professionals and aid in attracting new skilled professionals to the town. Out of all these important recommendations, the BHIRD committee’s primary focus pertains to recommendation 10 – “That the NSW Government work with the Australian Government to establish a Rural Area Community Controlled Health Organisation pilot, with a view to evaluating and refining it for roll-out in all areas of New South Wales where existing rural health services do not meet community needs.”

As health services have been a top priority for a number of years, the BHIRD committee’s aim is to create a tailored solution in collaboration with key stakeholders and has since established connections at MLHD, MPHN, NSWA and Rural Doctors Association. The next phase entails co-designing and rolling out a new ‘Model of Service Delivery’.

“The evidence clearly shows how our current access to health services can be inconsistent. The upcoming NSW State Election is our opportunity to ensure we will be supported to work with the government health agencies to mould health services that are tailored to our community’s needs. With Council and community members committed to assist with localised solutions, we are ready to make changes. We now want to know who of those standing for election will work with us,” said Cr Tony Reneker, Mayor of Leeton.

With the NSW State Election fast approaching, the community needs to understand what each candidate policy will encompass, which candidate will advocate for the 44 NSW inquiry recommendations and who will support the tailored ‘Model of Service Delivery’ pilot for Leeton.

Leeton Business Chamber and Leeton Shire Council are now providing the community with an opportunity to find out who our local representatives are for the 2023 NSW State Election at a ‘Meet the Candidates’ event. The event will be held at Yanco All Servicemen's Club (in the upstairs auditorium) on Tuesday, 14th March from 6:00pm. Confirmed candidates to attend are Helen Dalton, Peta Betts, David Landini, Kevin Farrell and Greg Adamson. We will be hearing from each candidate about their policy and asking a range of set questions concerning our community and local businesses. This event is free and open to the public however venue capacity is limited to 100 people on a first come, first serve basis.

If you wish to submit a question, please email council@leeton.nsw.gov.au by Sunday, 12th March.

ENDS

 

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Maryann Iannelli
LHSAC Chair
T. 0438 535 186
E. marellimarketing@gmail.com

Jackie Kruger
General Manager
T. (02) 6953 0911
E. jackiek@leeton.nsw.gov.au

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