New facilities to offer much needed treatments to the Riverina's veterans and first responders

Wagga will soon open an innovative multidisciplinary facility that provides sorely-needed holistic health treatments to veterans and first responders.

Pro Patria Property Trust is transforming the Carmelite Monastery in Ashmont into the Pro Patria Centre – a clinical treatment support site for veterans, defence and emergency support personnel.

Wagga City Council approved the renovations for the Pro Patria Centre which, upon completion in six to eight weeks, will make the facility fit for purpose for the doctors and psychiatrists waiting to provide their services to veterans and first responders.

Pro Patria Property Trust Trustee Secretary Alan Lean said it was essential to get the renovations done as soon as possible as the veterans in the regions are being “randomly serviced by a whole range of different things”.

“One of our veterans is being treated on the Gold Coast away from family for long stretches of time,” Mr Lean said.

“It is difficult for the family and very costly for organisations such as Veterans Affairs who are supporting them.”

Mr Lean said the organisation had received strong support from the council to start renovating.

Pro Patria Property Trust chairman Doctor Gordon Saggers said the Centre would probably be the only facility in Australia with on-site medical treatments.

“There are a lot of other centres that have support services, but this centre will provide medical services, which have been a need for the veterans in this [the Wagga] area and elsewhere,” Dr Saggers said.

“It is a big feather in our cap that we’re going to get a lot of treatment here, for which the veterans have been referred away to the capital cities.”

Doctor Saggers said the organisation had been working hard to change the use of the building from a residential to a medical treatment centre.

He said some of the renovations for the site included widening the doors, building ramps and revamping the bathrooms.

Doctor Jim Read will be the principal medical person and his team will use the site as a private practice.

Pro Patria Centre director and veteran Jason Frost said the organisation had been trying to get new services up and running for the past two years.

“With the builders starting the renovations, we’re one step closer to bringing some incredible medical services and support services to the region,” Mr Frost said.

“Wagga is the home of the soldier and for the past twenty years, veterans have been retiring in this region and have not had access to the services they need.”

Since 2016 Mr Frost has been involved in the veteran community with other local veterans. They have been actively coordinating with each other to better understand the issues faced by veterans.

“It wasn’t until we reached out to the community we started getting the support,” he said.

“We reached out to the wider Riverina and they had similar responses to what we were experiencing here [in Wagga].

“The recent census showed there are 3000 veterans in the region, and now we’re working with Macquarie University to extend the survey further to get more data.”