Retired farmer Marlene O’Connell and hospital canteen worker Judy Saddler express support for a split from MLHD at a recent rally. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
After months of debate, Griffith City Council has jumped off the fence and emphatically voted in favour of supporting a push for the town’s hospital to divorce itself from its Wagga-based administrators.
The local government body is backing Murray MP Helen Dalton’s bill before parliament to create a new Griffith-based Western Riverina Local Health District (WRLHD), which would make staffing and resourcing decisions for the hospital.
The vote follows the results of a community survey of just under 800 people, which showed 62 per cent of respondents backed a split, while only 3 per cent wanted to retain the current MLHD model as it is now.
Mayor Doug Curran moved a motion stating: “Council recognise community sentiment and support advocacy for the establishment of a Western Riverina Local Health District.”
The was backed by Crs Scott Groat, Jenny Ellis, Mark Dal Bon, Anne Napoli and Christine Stead.
Only Cr Tony O’Grady voted against it, while Crs Laurie Testoni and Shari Blumer were absent from the meeting. The motion passed by a vote of 6 to 1.
“Four hundred and ninety-odd people in a town of 27,000 is not overwhelming; it’s only 2 per cent of the population,” Mr O’Grady said, explaining his opposition.
“I’m hesitant because we may not end up with the outcome that the community wants … do we then go to Wagga and say, ‘Take us back’?”
Cr Ellis disagreed, saying she felt the survey response was good.
“This is excellent data to give the minister,” she said.
“The majority of people took the time to write down their reasons. Ninety-two per cent said MLHD should not be solely responsible for managing our health district. It’s very clear that there is a lot of problems with our health system and hopefully the State Government takes notice.”
Brendan Catanzariti, who is leading a committee pushing for a split, said the volume of survey responses was higher than it usually is for Griffith Council surveys.
“There is also a petition in support of a split that has garnered more than 6,000 signatures,” he said.
Mayor Curran’s motion also included a second part, stating that council would work with MLHD in its current structure.
“Even if we advocate for a split, it could be two to three years away. I think we should work with the MLHD in the interim,” he said.
Cr Groat amended this slightly to state that council would work with MLHD until if and when it was split up. A majority of councillors supported this amendment.
Mayor Curran also noted that NSW Health Minister Ryan Park had still not responded to council’s request for a meeting more than a month ago, which was “disappointing”.
His motion also stated that the council should again write to the minister informing him of the results of the community survey.
Minister Park has previously expressed his opposition to the MLHD being split up.
The MLHD itself also opposes Mrs Dalton’s bill.
“Evidence shows splitting the district would cost more, deliver less, and put services at risk,” the MLHD claims.
The Griffith Base Hospital Medical Staff Council, a body that represents specialists and doctors at the hospital, backed the split in an open letter to Ms Dalton. Surgeons Dr Narayanan Jayachandran, Dr Howard Fan and the late paediatrician Professor Maxwell Hopp have been highly critical of the MLHD and vocal supporters of a split.
