Inverell health system is badly bent and beyond repair

Adam Marshall is demanding immediate answers and a quick fix to enormously worrying problems at the Inverell District Hospital.

I have been watching our health system deteriorate over the last 20-odd years. During that time a new $60 million hospital was built by the state government - and supposedly provided for the provision of modern health services and care, which would do away with the need for local patients to travel to other centres for many operations and othertreatments.

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The VMO system now depends on the importation of locum doctors.

Over 14,000 local residents go to bed each night expecting that medical help, if needed, will be available! HNEH, very inaccurately, assured the Inverell community that adequate staffing would be in place to ensure that the new facility would be able to be fully functional.

The Local Hospital District (LHD) Health System is badly bent - and beyond repair.

I had the opportunity, over the last couple of weeks, to discuss the matter with local federal member, Barnaby Joyce, Federal Regional Health Minister, Dr David Gillespie and Inverell Mayor, Paul Harmon.

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All showed major concern about how bad things are - and not just confined to our local area.

I made a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Regional Health Care which has just made its findings and recommendations public.

I hope the 30-odd recommendations will be quickly acted upon. I think Adam Marshall agrees with that.