The Beagle
Nov 22, 2018
Shire councillors this week met the new federal Member for Eden-Monaro, Mike Kelly, in a bid to have a single health facility built in the region.
The State Government has told the council that a new hospital is at least 15 years away.
But Mayor Neil Mumme says the hospitals at Moruya and Batemans Bay are just not coping.
"The fact we've got two hospitals at the moment that are both small, we are having difficulty attracting specialists and doctors to the region and to have a single base hospital - a regional hospital - in the Eurobodalla is very important as we go forward and our population grows, our population ages," he said.
"This can provide all of those services to stop dislocation to people having to travel well outside the area to get the services they need."
Something to ponder: CRITICAL CARE
The critical care stream incorporates the emergency service and an intensive care service that includes coronary care and stroke-ready beds.
This stream does not operate in isolation but has links to all other services including tertiary-level care.
The geography of Eurobodalla places it up to three hours from the nearest major centre and major hospital capable of providing definitive critical care
Eurobodalla hospitals provided for only 56.1% of inpatient demand (to both public and private facilities).The data projects that in 2026/27, Eurobodalla residents will utilise an increase of 25.3% for separations and 23.5% for bed days compared to 2015/16.
This compares with the 4.5% increase in population projected
There is a large outflow of services that could be provided closer to home if the service develops acute services to meet a Level 4 role delineation.The development of critical care services will improve Eurobodalla’s self-sufficiency in surgery and medicine.
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