The community meeting at St. Andrew’s Hall on 03 June was a great success with around 40 people attending.
Several weeks ago Dr Andrew Heslop released details of the VMO issue to the public and the media via Facebook and various other media platforms. The good news is that the resulting social media storm appears to have pressured the MNCLHD into engaging more co-operatively with the VMOs.
The MNCLHD has now agreed to flexible contracts, is meeting with local doctors who have expressed interest in working at the hospital, and is in discussion with the Agency for Clinical Innovation who’s stated mission is to “bring patients, clinicians and managers together to support the design and implementation of innovation in health care”
There was another VMO meeting last Wednesday and the first of a series of planned get togethers with prospective VMOs that evening. Dr. Heslop hopes to have positive news for us within a couple of weeks.
13 meeting attendees volunteered to be on standby in case the MNCLHD does not resolve the VMO shortage situation satisfactorily and the community needs to take further action via the media, and by writing to our elected representatives.
This is all progress in the right direction. However, this does not mean that the proposal to close the ED after hours has been withdrawn, and we need to keep up the pressure.
In the meantime, you can still sign the Getup petition by following this link:
Getup Petition
Let’s keep up the pressure!
Save Bellingen Hospital 