Ed,
Recently I suffered a medical emergency and was transported by ambulance to Maclean District Hospital. Thank God the hospital is still there after being downgraded by successive Governments. My wife and myself were informed I would not have made it to Grafton let alone Lismore.
The medical team in emergency stabilised me and had me transported by ambulance to Tweed Valley Hospital where I spent some time in ICU.
I cannot speak more highly of the staff in Maclean without whom I would not be here writing this letter today.
Premier, let’s stop stuffing around with our District Hospitals. Instead of downsizing our Maclean Hospital we need to re-invigorate it with more services and more equipment given the population explosion in our area and the age of that population explosion.
On another note, the Tweed Valley Hospital is a remarkable place. The care is of a high standard as far as I am concerned but I was appalled to listen to the nurses regarding the drain of staff from NSW to QLD where these nursing professionals earn $15,000-$20,000 a year more than their NSW counterparts.
Premier, these are extremely dedicated people, but dedication doesn’t pay the bloody bills. I think you need to have an urgent review of the NSW pay structure for our nurses.
I encourage all people who value our nurses to write to the Premier through their local member to demand these changes.

Bill Collingburn, Yamba