To nominate for a position on the BHAG Committee:
Sadly, Barbara Moore the founding president of the Bellinger Health Action Group died last week at the Bellinger River District Hospital.
Barb was a woman of many talents. She was a prolific baker, a legendary propagator,
a champion of native flora and a supremely efficient organiser.
We will remember her for her energy and dedication, for her obsessive attention to detail and for her ability to scare the daylights out of politicians and senior government officials in order to obtain the best outcome for our community.
Barb, you will be missed …
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 However, this does not mean that the proposal to close the ED after hours has been withdrawn, and we need to keep up the pressure.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!
For nearly 9 months the Visiting Medical Officers (VMOs) and the Mid North Coast Local Health District (MNCLHD) have been in discussion in relation to staffing issues at the Bellinger River District Hospital.
We first flagged this issue in September 2020 in a previous post and media release …
Threat to Emergency Department hours ?
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. A copy of his statement is attached below in case you missed it. The resulting social media storm has had the desired effect and 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. There is another VMO meeting scheduled for this Wednesday morning, and a get together with prospective VMOs on Wednesday evening, and 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.
We encourage you to attend the community update and discussion on Thursday 03 June at 6:00pm at St. Andrew’s Church Hall in Hyde Street, Bellingen. The hall is the building fronting Hyde Street, entrance will be via the side door.
Note: we will be operating a COVID-Safe environment and will ask you to either sign-in manually, or use the QR code provided . Seating will be 2 metres apart.
If you cannot attend the meeting, and would like to be kept updated, you can either subscribe to our website, or email us at bellohospitalrescue@gmail.com
View Dr. Andrew Heslop’s statement here
The following article appeared on the Bellingen Courier-Sun website – 24 September, 2020
