The prospect of a better health service for Tenterfield if the district relocates from Hunter New England Local Health District to the Lismore-based Northern NSW LHD is again gaining traction after Tenterfield Hospital was left doctor-less for most of the past week.
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The move has been on the cards for many years, with both former and current Lismore MPs -- Thomas George and Janelle Saffin -- saying it was up to the Tenterfield community to decide. Ms Saffin said at last month's community health forum that she had a few loose ends to tie up before gauging if she had a community mandate to take the issue forward.
Tenterfield councillors John Macnish have upped the anti, presenting an urgent motion at Wednesday's council meeting that Tenterfield relocate to the Northern NSW LHD.
Furthermore that council demand the NSW Health Minister direct Hunter New England Health to:
- immediately remove impediments to patients being transported to Queensland hospitals,
- immediately staff three registered nurses per shift, and
- immediately staff a constant doctor presence at Tenterfield Hospital.
They received unanimous support from their fellow councillors.
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"Problems at the hospital have been going on for years," Cr Macnish said.
Despite assurances from HNELHD that patients could be transferred from Tenterfield to Queensland facilities if they wished, he said this hasn't proven to be the case.
He cited a selection of disturbing incidents, such as a heart-attack victim whose Brisbane specialist was awaiting his arrival, only for him to instead be shunted around four or five NSW facilities after presenting at Tenterfield Hospital. Another friend's mother-in-law who was booked into St Andrew's in Toowoomba was unwell and went to Tenterfield Hospital where they insisted on her being transferred to Armidale.
"He put her in his car and drove her straight to Toowoomba. When they got there he was told she could have died on the way up."
The ongoing campaign to boost nursing numbers and the absence of a doctor at the hospital for six days straight has brought the matter to a head, coupled with the loss of a heart attack patient during that period.
"Whether a doctor could have saved him, we'll never know," Cr Macnish said, "but I guess he would have had a chance.
"If people get sick in Tenterfield, they drive to Wallangarra to call an ambulance. Everyone has their stories."
"There's been so much money spent on infrastructure, but there are no doctors and nurses to staff it. It would be better for the whole community to transfer to Lismore."
Cr Petrie said that Cross Border Commissioner James McTavish has stated that our's is the state's only health district having problems with interstate transfers.
When the recent Kildare Rd fires prevented a patient being flown to a category five hospital they were instead transferred to Brisbane (via Stanthorpe and Warwick) so it can done, she said, and Northern NSW LHD doesn't transfer south.
Whereas it used to be customary for patients to be transferred north from Tenterfield, she said it's only since Hunter combined with New England that the problems started. If it's due to budgetary concerns, she said it's cheaper to transfer a patient two hours north to a category five hospital in Toowoomba than two hours south to the category three hospital in Armidale. Any higher elevation is going to cost more again to move the patient another four hours to Newcastle.
"Our nurses are doing their damnedest, and can you imagine the stress they're under.
"Enough is enough. We gave them (HNELHD) a chance, and they failed. "
