Minister for Health and Regional Health Ryan Park has made his first official visit to the Riverina to meet with Member for Murray Helen Dalton and Murrumbidgee Local Health District executives and staff.
On the agenda were discussions about a possible demerger of the MLHD and funding for Deniliquin Hospital.
While election campaigns over several years have included calls from the community for greater health infrastructure development at Deniliquin - including Mrs Dalton’s desire for a $150 million investment - Mr Park said securing a suitable workforce should be the first goal.
“Great hospitals are built not just on great equipment and good buildings,” Mr Park told the Pastoral Times.
“Fundamental to them is adequate staffing and making sure that we've got adequate resources in place.
“I’d like to see focus on making sure that we’re getting healthcare housing in place when we do new builds.
“I think that’s really important, particularly in regional and rural areas where housing is a real challenge.”
Mr Park said the NSW Government is working on an inbound package to attract healthcare workers to the Riverina.
“Hospitals and new buildings are good, people need them, but they don’t drive healthcare,” he said after discussions with Mrs Dalton and MLHD boss Jill Ludford.
“What drives health is making sure there’s a good culture within the facility and that people feel supported to go and work there.
Asked specifically about Deniliquin Hospital, the minister said he will be having a discussion with Health Infrastructure around “all of the capital, where it fits and what money has been allocated”.
“I’m not going to rush and make a decision.
“I want to have a discussion with the chief executive of Health Infrastructure and see where the money is allocated for that.”
Mr Park said the Minns Government would not be obsessed with cutting ribbons on new buildings.
“They are important, I’m not trying to dilute that, but healthcare is delivered by trained clinical staff and supported by a range of different allied services. For me, that’s where I need to start to prioritise.”
Mr Park was non-committal about the possible demerger of Deniliquin from the Murrumbidgee Local Health District, raised during the March election process.
He said the government would establish a commission of inquiry.
“We will have a look at this, but we're also not going to change for change’s sake.
“It's got to improve the delivery of health care on the ground and I want to make sure that patient outcomes improve and support for staff is driving any of the administrative change that may or may not occur, not the reverse where the administration drives what happens on the ground.
“I don't want that to happen.”
Deniliquin Local Health Advisory Committee chair Lourene Liebenberg agreed that staffing is a major issue in Deniliquin.
“What we continue to hear, consistently, is the issue around access to general practitioners, which leaves many people in our community without access to primary health care,” she said.
“Workforce remains an issue across all areas of health and the many organisations that work alongside health.”
Mrs Liebenberg said the terms of reference for the commission of inquiry would provide clarity for the community.
“Mergers and demergers, as well as changes to boards and committees, is a natural part of the process with every major health restructure.
“Demergers have been mentioned in context of the intended establishment of Commission of Inquiry into the health system with a strong focus on budget and health expenditure.
“Deni LHAC welcomes any initiative that will see careful investigation of expenditure and ascertaining whether existing funding structures are suitable for local health districts and to address waste and duplication.”
Mrs Liebenberg said the Minns Government’s ‘Fresh Start Plan’ for healthcare seems to address many important issues in rural health.
“Rebuilding, recruiting and retaining workforce, safe staffing levels, and removing wages cap is a fantastic start,” she said.
“For many rural facilities, infrastructure upgrades and redevelopment are critically important to deliver safe care and enable new innovative models of care to be delivered.
“We truly hope this is a priority for rural health facilities.”
A commencement date for the commission of inquiry is yet to be announced.