SOUTHERN NSW Local Health District is to seek the views of residents from Delegate and the surrounding district on the future of sustainable local health services at a public meeting at the Delegate School of Arts on Friday, February 21.
Chief Executive Southern NSW Local Health District, Dr Max Alexander, said the Local Health District is keen to hear community views on options for health services across Delegate and Bombala.
“The Local Health District’s aim is to maintain a health service in both towns and to do this we need to use the staff we have to our best advantage,” said Dr Alexander.
“A paper containing options to be considered for the ongoing delivery of health services at both Delegate and Bombala is currently circulating around the district to allow options currently on the table to be better understood. Those options are not exhaustive and we would welcome new and appropriate suggestions.
“I acknowledge the active efforts of the Delegate and Bombala communities to recruit doctors. However, both the Delegate and Bombala Multi-Purpose Services (MPS) continue to struggle to find sufficient nurses.
“We must plan now to maintain a service despite the shortages of both doctors and nurses,” said Dr Alexander.
All options put forward would see the Delegate and Bombala health service campuses remaining open, but the mix of services at each campus may change.
Options put forward to date include:
• Formalising current management arrangements for the Bombala MPS and Delegate MPS, with one manager having responsibility for both services.
• Replacing the Delegate Emergency Department with increased community health services. This would include a regular walk-in “Wellness Clinic” which would cater for services such as wound care, blood pressure checks, blood tests and general health monitoring.
• Implementing a clear set of protocols for registered nurses to deal with certain Emergency Department presentations without the supervision of a doctor, such as attending to certain wounds, administering basic pain relief, doing CPR and automatic defibrillation.
• Establishing a Telehealth service, so that nurses could receive back up from doctors in another area for certain Emergency Department presentations.
• Establishing a Nurse Practitioner role, to provide a more specialised service in a selected field, such as chronic and complex care, or emergencies.
• Concentrating the Delegate campus on residential high care (9 places) and providing up to 4 respite places. Delegate could also investigate providing places for clients with dementia.
The public meeting will commence at 6.30pm at the Delegate School of Arts. For further information please phone Delegate MPS on 6459 8000.
Copies of the options paper are available from both the Bombala and Delegate MPS.
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