OCTOBER 2010 - FROM THE DISCUSSION BOARD

Hi Alison, BHAG and SOS have at no time been a part of this page and have shown minimal input or assistance. As I explain in the Info section, I started the FB page on a purely personal note, not expecting it to grow so big I have no access to info other than as a member of the general public. Every now and then I weary of trying to keep enthusiastic.
The BHAG page seems not to have been updated since Sep 3 2010. Still lists K Rudd as P.M., has no history of the hospital at all and doesn't explain any intended actions or give any details of what activities they are engaged in. It includes several other inaccuracies which I recognise let alone any I don't.

I would LOVE more stories and tales and photos - I would love even more to feel that some improvements were coming - but the data is just inaccessible to someone like me. Like the emails not going through when the Dept of health was 'seeking public submissions". The Dept of Health said the Bellingen Hospital response was not significant enough to be taken into account. I certainly forwarded all the details we have as well as my own personal submission.

I do check the net most days and newspapers as well as sending off emails and links to as many people and departments as I can think of.
Response is minimal from anyone other than our local community.
Just at the moment, I am temporarily out of ideas, info and stories.

I do hear tell from the Courier Sun that a 3rd baby has been born in the hospital.

I am also aware that FB pages with this many fans are monitored by Govt Departments etc and while they may not provide public feedback, they do pay surreptitious attention to them so
each comment we get,
each photo that is posted,
each additional fan who joins
just might be more significant than we know.

Our People DO count. The History of the Hospital Counts and so do our visions for its future.

Yrs , Lynne. ( temporarily deflated ).

BELLINGEN HOSPITAL SUPPORTERS - ORDINARY PEOPLE- EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE. NOT AFFILIATED WITH BHAG OR ANYONE ELSE BUT RIGHT THERE WITH THEM IF THEY ARE SBH ING

DR LITTLE

SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL

DEIDRE Little says lack of adequate notice by the North Coast Area Heath Service meant Bellingen Hospital’s doctors were unable to attend the vital task force review of facilities earlier this year.

In a letter to the NSW Health Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, Dr Little, who is the current chair of the hospital’s Medical Staff Council, said the hospital’s CEO, Vince Carroll, was only notified five days prior to the scheduled visit.

“Most of us were fully booked by patients well in advance of this date and time of notification,” Dr Little said.

“We were not consulted about any possible alternative date or time nor given the opportunity to negotiate a time when medical officers could attend.”

Dr Little said only one doctor out of a possible eight was present and that was due to a day off.

“We therefore consider the NCAHS CEO and Area Health Advisory Council have provided an invalid presentation to the Statewide Taskforce, as they have not met with the Medical Staff Council.

“We would like the Department to reissue the invitation for a proper consultation.”

Late on Tuesday the NCAHS responded saying notification of the consultation was made to the then chair of the council, Dr Fi Lam, on July 30.

“Dr Trevor Cheney was asked by her to attend the consultation on August 10,” a spokesperson said. “Other clinicians were also in attendance. Dr Lam is a member of the Clinical Services Planning Taskforce and has provided significant input at Taskforce meetings.”

A response from the minister regarding Dr Little’s request for a fresh consultation has not been received yet.

Ms Tebbutt’s office did however respond to a question about why Greens MP Lee Rhiannon was denied permission to make an official visit to the hospital when in Bellingen last Saturday: “Official visitors to hospitals must be accompanied by a senior staff member to avoid disruption to patients and their care. Ms Rhiannon’s request was only received one day prior to her intended visit.”and therefore could not be arranged within the timeframe.”


_____________________

SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL

Cuts bleed Bellingen hospital: doctors
NATASHA WALLACE HEALTH
February 23, 2010
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BELLINGEN hospital does not do after-hours operations, offers no antenatal care, has no sterilisation equipment and, most recently, no after-hours radiology service. Now locals are concerned they are about to lose overnight emergency care.

Doctors and residents have dubbed a string of administrative decisions over the past few years ''death by a thousand cuts'' and are fearful the North Coast Area Heath Service has gradually run down services at the 34-bed Bellingen River District Hospital with a view to closing it.

Doctors will meet the State Health Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, tomorrow to demand a halt to cuts which have affected emergency, day surgery, maternity and acute care services.

Jaki Lockyer, a spokeswoman for the Bellingen Health Action Group, said over the past year day surgery had been reduced to half of its previous capacity. Surgeons have to bring enough medical equipment to do several procedures or use more expensive disposable equipment because there is no sterilisation equipment.

''All of the services are under attack. If not already experiencing severe reduction, they are threatened … it's really frightening,'' she said.

She said the area health service had recently flagged the closure of overnight emergency services.

''Our concern is that it is imminent … this is where lives will be at more risk.''

The chairwoman of the Medical Staff Council, Deirdre Little, called the situation ''death by a thousand cuts''.

Dr Little said Coffs Harbour hospital, which is about 40 minutes away, was already struggling to see emergency patients on time, had long waiting lists for elective surgery and could not cope with the excess patient load.

Since maternity services were cut at Bellingen - there was just one birth there last year and no antenatal care despite 125 pregnancies in the area - women had to travel long distances in labour.

A week ago Rosemary Mackney drove herself 40 minutes to Coffs Harbour hospital for an antenatal check-up, where she was told she was in labour.

''It was a real stress … I was really freaking out that I'd be stuck in a vehicle on my way to give birth,'' Ms Mackney said.

Dr Little said the area health service did a patient activity audit for 2007-2008 which had several errors but it had not released a corrected version. Doctors were concerned the data might be used to justify a further erosion of services.

A spokesman for the area health service said it had ''no plans to close the Bellingen River District Hospital'', and it had ''made no decision to partly close'' the emergency department. A copy of the correct patient profile had been sent to Dr Little last Friday.

WALKING

• SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL

  Irene Donovan: Remember when all the Aboriginal women had to walk from Bowerville to Bellingin to have their babies, through the bushes their were no roads back then,Due to my birth there, I did the back to Bower from Bellingen walk in about 1987

  over a year ago · Delete Post
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  SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL

  Sammi Cambray The tenacity of a woman to walk so far through what I imagine to be dense and difficult terrain inspires me. Perhaps, (and I am speaking as a white mama, so indigenous people please be honest if this sounds like an insensitive idea), it would be great if a group of us could do that walk to highlight the history of the hospital and the injustices that the indigenous women of the Bowraville area had to face, and even link it to the difficulties in travelling to Coffs for outlying women such as those in the valleys and on the plateau to access maternity services. I think it would be a great media grabber.

  over a year ago · Delete Post
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  SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL

  SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL I think the bowra walk is pretty sacred. I think we need someone who will walk from Bello to Coffs as the Aboriginal People had to do from Bowra to Bello. That is now accepted as an outrageous thing to have expected people to do. Now, we are asked to take it for granted that we travel these distances. Would make a good looking protest. Might start a discussion on what protest/ celebration would work for Bellingen as it is now.

  over a year ago · Delete Post
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  SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL

  Carol Leon. They should go back and read or listen to the The Elders from the Indiginous people of this land as a lot of our relatives use to walk the back road from Bowraville to Bellingen Hostpital to have there babies

  over a year ago · Delete Post
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  SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL

  Angel M Williams: without speaking on behalf of all Indigenous people of the Nambucca Valley. I would like to say that the Bellingen Hosp has a special connection with my family from years gone by. When we ( my Elders) as Aboriginal people were not allowed within the Macksville Hosp my family walked from Bowraville to Belligen for treatment. good luck with your plight my family fully support you

  over a year ago · Delete Post
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  Sammi Cambray

  SBH, I think the Bello to Coffs walk may be a better idea- I don't want to stand on any toes or make any comparisons between what the indigenous women had to endure to get to the hospital. Also, I don't want it to look like we are 'hijacking' a past (?) indigenous issue for the hospital cause.

  over a year ago · 
  

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  SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL

  Do you know anyone who can walk that far, Sammi ? I am in the old and Unfit sector.Good online. Timid in the flesh. Well done with the Photo Shoot.
  There will be other ideas out there as well, I should think. It just took my fancy. Imagine if the people from south walked the Bowra walk again ( Angel has listed that as a possible) and Bello took it from Bello to Coffs ! (brainstorming). 

  over a year ago · Delete Post
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  Margaret Glyde

  Any one who were unable to walk could go on mobility scooters or wheel chairs crutches on horseback the possabilities are endless

JIM BELSHAW NO 2

Bellingen organises to save hospital

While I have never lived in Bellingen, I have known the town all my life and written about it on this blog a number of times.
Bellingen now faces a threat to its hospital services and the locals have organised to try to save it. You will find the Save Bellingen Hospital web site here.
The Bellingen Hospital case is an example of the increasing conflict that has arisen between the needs of centralised service delivery on one side, local needs and indeed history on the other.
To health planners concerned about value for health dollars at a time of budget stress, the idea of rationalising services across broader areas appeals greatly and has done so for a number of years. However, there can be a fundamental conflict between this and local aspirations and needs.
To the health planner, a local hospital is a piece on a chess board to be moved or given up in the interests of the greater game. To the local, the hospital is an integral part of their life. They have worked for it, they were born there, their children were born there, family and friends have died there, they have visited it many times, they know the staff.
You can see this clearly if you look at the newly established Save Bellingen Hospital public Facebook page. Just a few quotes:

• Marguerite: Bellingen Hospital was a very decisive factor in my sea change from Sydney to Bellingen over a decade ago. As a single mother with a young asthmatic child I needed to know that I could access an emergency service, that was close by, no matter what time of day or night. I have indeed used the service many times and wou...ld feel that the community would be robbed of this asset . Although my daughter has since grown up and moved away. I would like to see the hospital survives this senseless closure, ensuring its fantastic care for others with high health risks.
• Briony: I broke my shoulder bone, from a horse riding accident way back when I was about 12. I was treated at Bellingen hospital, they were very good to me!!
• Hannah: I had may major asthma attacks at Bello , they saved my life more than once, and there was never a wait x.
• Laura: My mother and auties were born in Belligen Hospital, all my 7 brothers and
  sisters and I were born at Bellingen Hospital, 2 of my 4 children were
  born at Bellingen, For 1 i was forced to go to coffs due to bellingens
  services being down graded and just 7 months ago I gave birth at home
  because it was the only option that suited my family situation. Neither me or my husband drive and many a time we have needed to catch a taxi to make the 4minute trip to the hospital in
  the middle of the night when our little pumpkins have been ill. Catching a taxi to coffs or having to wait for a ambulance in the middle of the night is not only unnecessary but could be life
  threatening. Please keep the hospital services we have and my wish is
  that they will go back to what they were.
• Tokana: I know that I've always gone to Bellingen Hospital, even f I needed to be transferred. I will have my children at Bellingen Hospital one day. I love and appreciate the wonderful staff who put in long hours and never complain at what they do -but they do complain about the wages not being enough for the amount of time they put into the hospital and their patients. They also make you feel welcome and important. They're always friendly to patients and each other, and they tend to your needs. SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL!!!!
• Carol: They should go back and read or listen to the The Elders from the Indiginous people of this land as a lot of our relatives use to walk the back road from Bowraville to Bellingen Hostpital to have there babies. My three grand children were born in Bellingen Hostpital and all the Doctors and Staff have always been there for me when I neeed there help SOOOOOO p[LEASE don't close our wonderful hostpital down as the whole Community needs the doors to be kept opened.
• David: As we recently had our hospital closed down in Cowes, I feel for you. Can't these idiots get their priorities right?

If you look at these comments, you can see the way people still love and trust their local hospital at a time when distrust in health services and hospitals has been on the rise.
Over time, the inexorable centralisation of health services has weakened local hospitals. All country people know this. They have seen services withdrawn, forcing them to travel increasing distances for service if indeed they can travel. Not everyone has a car, and public transport is often poor.
This has economic and social effects and actually increases the normal dangers of life. If the Bellinger River floods as it does so often, then access to Coffs may be cut. It becomes harder to attract people to live in specific communities. It becomes harder for older people who may need care to stay in their communities.
One might accept some of these outcomes if country health services were delivering better results. However, the reality appears to be a growing gap in health outcomes between country and metro areas.
Given the fundamental disconnect between the models currently used in health planning and community needs and aspirations, the only weapon available to locals is protest. This is the reason why the Bellingen community is looking to attract as much support as possible for the preservation of the local hospital.
You can help them and also follow the cause by joining the Save Bellingen Hospital Facebook page.       

JIM BELSHAW

http://newenglandaustralia.blogspot.com/2010/02/bellingen-hospital-facebook-and-costs.html

Friday, February 12, 2010

Bellingen Hospital, Facebook and the costs to the community

Yesterday in Bellingen organises to save hospital I reported on the campaign to save services at Bellingen Hospital.
It's been very interesting watching the unofficial Facebook page formed to support the official campaign site. This was created on Tuesday 9 February. As of this morning, it had 812 fans. That's a very rapid growth in such a short time.
The first challenge in a local campaign of this type is to demonstrate local support. The Facebook provides a tangible measure of this.
The second challenge is to spell out the reasons why people want the particular result, in this case saving the hospital's facilities. The official campaign has been doing this, but the Facebook page provides lots of specific examples. It personalises the general arguments.
It also provides information that can be used directly in scoping need. Let me illustrate this by example.
  Health planners work with the statistical data they have. This includes census data and health system data including hospital admissions. They are concerned not just with the now, but also the future. Here they use projections that by their nature reflect the past.
There are several difficulties with this approach: one lies in the weaknesses of the statistics themselves; a second is the inability to identify and properly analyse the on-ground effects of decisions.
Looking at the Facebook comments, the examples might be used to draw up a table of adverse effects.
It is clear from the comments that Bellingen Hospital serves a catchment extending from Ebor in the west to Urunga in the east. This broadly but probably not exactly equates to the LGA boundary. In broad terms, the catchment boundaries are set by the travel time to Bellingen compared to the bigger hospitals in Armidale on the west, Coffs in the east.
The first effect of any reduction in services will be an increase in travel time. This will be differential across the catchment and can be mapped.
Dorrigo, for example, is roughly 29k or 26 minutes by car from Bellingen, 124k or 1hr 40 from Armidale, 66k or one hour from Coffs. So any reduction in Bellingen services means increased travel time for Dorrigo people of 1hr 14 in the case of Armidale, 74 minutes in the case of Coffs. The extra cost to patients can be calculated.
Travel times then need to be adjusted for the availability of public transport for those who do not have cars or who must travel by public transport or, alternatively, taxis. Extra time and costs here can also be roughly estimated. Another health cost may be the failure of people to seek treatment when they should, simply because its too difficult.
Travel times also need to be considered in terms of type of illness or accident. Again, the Facebook pages provides personalised examples to be considered. For example, what happens if your child has a sudden asthma attack?
The extra costs of ambulance travel can also be roughly estimated.
This analysis addresses just the direct costs. There are also broader community costs, including access to other Government services. For example, the supply of social housing may be affected because one of the key criteria here is access to services.
No doubt many of these issues have already been picked up by those fighting to save services at Bellingen Hospital. However, the new Facebook page provides extra evidence.
Finally, one of the points that I always try to make in cases like this is that Government policy focuses on the savings to Government on one side, the broad nature of services on the other. The cost shifting to local communities is rarely taken into full account simply because it is harder to measure. 

http://bellingen.info/Local-News.php

SBH

SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL

SAVE BELLINGEN HOSPITAL I have posted most of the comments from SBH on the link below in order that the info not be lost. I have taken surnames off and the links to yr FB profile. If you want yrs changed or removed, let me know or change the details in the comment section. If its completely infradig or illegal - ditto and I shall assess the situation.
http://savebellohospital.blogspot.com/