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People were asked to raise their hands if they had been treated at Maclean District Hospital – organisers noted that only one hand was not raised. Image: Geoff Helisma

Pride, passion and politics: community Vs bureaucracy

Geoff Helisma|

Around 200 people packed the room on Thursday February 27 at the Maclean showground, to show their opposition to the proposed changes at Maclean District Hospital and to hear a range of speakers from the Nurses and Midwives Association (NMA), the Health Services Union (HSU) and the Australian Paramedics Association (APA), among others.

Yaegl elder and Anglican Church reverend Lenore Parker summed up the group-feeling in the Jim Thompson Pavilion when she gave her welcome to country: “I am sure of one thing,” she said, “the energy [and] the passion for what we are fighting for.

“…We come together as a people with one heart, body and soul, to make our voices heard loud and clear; and we do it respectfully.”

The meeting, organised by the NMA, followed the previous day’s Northern NSW Local Health District (NNLHD) forum held at the Maclean Services Club – see ‘Community remains sceptical about hospital changes’

At the NNLHD forum, the health district’s director of clinical operations Lynne Weir said “there will be no cuts”, in apparent frustration, “10 or 15 times”, – the people at that forum didn’t agree, despite Ms Weir’s “absolute guarantee” there would be no reduction in services; nor did those at the NMA meeting.

In simple terms, a ward will be closed and there will be 10 fewer beds available unless they are required during a “surge” in demand – a reduction from 43 to 33 beds and the loss of two staff positions from the Level 2 acute ward.

Where and how these employees will be redeployed has yet to be resolved – the NNLHD says this will be managed “as per the NSW Health Managing Excess Staff policy”.

The NNLHD says the proposal is part of the government’s election promise – to provide an additional 5,000 nurses across the state (28.7 additional nursing hours per day) – and that the restructure will result in a $150,000 efficiency gain.

The NMNA’s general secretary Brett Holmes said that the “rationale for the LHD’s proposed changes remained unclear, along with any preparedness to mitigate impacts on other areas of the hospital”.

“Both the acute and sub-acute inpatient wards were due to receive increased rostered nursing hours, funded by the NSW Health Minister’s 2019 election commitment to boost nursing positions in regional public hospitals,” he said in a media release.

“The fact the LHD is deleting two current positions from the acute ward, including a nurse unit manager role, and plans to recruit less qualified enrolled nurses and assistants in nursing, raises further questions about ensuring a safe skills mix among the nurses on each shift.”

Petitions were handed out at the meeting and subsequently passed on by Lower Clarence Labor Party members to the shadow health minister at the Country Labor conference over the weekend.

These will be tabled in parliament.

Petitions are also available in various businesses around the Lower Clarence, including Maclean Hot Bread & Cake Kitchen, Clarence Medical Centre, Tartan Pizza, Core Physiotherapy Clinic, The Cottage Takeaway, Bad Habits Tobacconist and Maclean Newsagency.