There is concern that Pambula Hospital is not getting the funding promised to bring it up to standard and members of Save Our Hospital Inc (SOHI) and community activists are calling on the NSW government to ensure there is money set aside in the upcoming state budget.
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SOHI president Sharon Tapscott said the building did not meet the NSW government’s own standards for hospital buildings and that the money currently being spent on there would not bring it up to standard. Work started in April and will include an upgrade to reception, the Assessment, Treatment, and Care Centre as well as an upgrade to its single rooms. A community gym and rehabilitation space will also be created.
“While we fully appreciate $7m for live theartre arts, $3m for a cycleway and $2m for a walkway, why after several years has the stage two $5m to rectify Pambula Hospital still not materialised? The health of our communities should be a critical priority for government,” Ms Tapscott said.
Community activist and volunteer Daryl Dobson said it was “just not good enough for the patients of Pambula Hospital to have a building that doesn’t meet code”.
“The community several years ago identified the need to invest at least $5m of new monies as stage two of a multistage refurbishment program for Pambula Hospital. The Local Health District was part of those investigations. The NSW Health Ministry has had the Pambula Hospital priority request in writing from the Local Health District, presumably on the Ministers desk, for the last two years but the $5m hasn’t yet been funded by the NSW government,” an angry Ms Tapscott said.
Long-term hospital activist Frankie J Holden said health should be a priority.
“It’s not rocket science and it’s not a large amount of money. It would be great to fix the deficits at our hospital in this year’s budget.”
Another hospital activist Geoff Dove, called on the Premier and Health Minister to ensure that the many local elderly residents who used Pambula Hospital were not in a substandard building.