Truth behind new hospital
AS WE quickly draw to a close on the completion of the redeveloped Wagga Wagga Base Hospital (sorry, Wagga Wagga Rural Referral Hospital), we see more and more publicity about the new building and all that is promises for the people in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District.
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This publicity is used to whet the appetite for all of us that have slowly watched the development progress from the ground up.
What they are hiding about the redevelopment is that it is just another word for renovation. There is some new equipment but not all.
What you have not been told is every piece of equipment has been assessed for transfer to the new hospital.
Every bed, including those ancient brown beds that were probably new some 50 years ago and are as user friendly and as comfortable as a horse and cart.
Also every IV pole, every wheelchair, the pictures on the walls and the waiting room chairs in the emergency department are listed for possible transfer.
The funding required to provide this district with a new facility which would include new equipment and the staff to adequately provide the services that have been advertised was significantly underestimated.
Therefore, on the day that the facility opens for operation, you will find the same worn out equipment and staff that are overworked, burnt out, exhausted and stretched to breaking point.
The staff that continue to work tirelessly to provide care won't have additional staff to assist with the expected influx of patients that will utilise the new facilities and services that have been so heavily promoted.
While the hospital has continued to increase its workloads for the last several years, all requests for additional staff are being knocked back and yet there is still this stretch on demand.
Apart from mass resignation, I remain unsure what it will take for the powers to take care of its staff.
Another important piece of information that the health district is keeping quiet on is, there is currently no Medicare licence for the MRI machine. This means the day you turn up for an MRI scan, you will be turned away. No Medicare licence means no outpatient bookings at all. Only patients currently in the hospital will be able to access MRI.
There is also lack of insight in to the need for additional car parking.
When Daryl Maguire and other VIPs attend the hospital for nothing other than an opportunity to have their photos taken, they have a reserved space for their vehicle to park. On the other hand, visitors to the hospital spend an eternity circling the car park trying to find a space.
Don't get me wrong, I am extremely excited about the impending opening of the new hospital but I am also exhausted.
There are many hours of staff time after a day’s work that has gone into ensuring that the new hospital runs smoothly come opening day.
This redevelopment and its failure to deliver a long term solution to delivering health services to this district for the future is just another example of how we have fallen victim to being a safe state and federal seat.
Jane Smith
Wagga
Real work/life balance
FOR about 100 years, Australia has celebrated the eight hour day working day.
Now Sweden has introduced the six hours working day.
The central idea behind Sweden’s six-hour work day is to encourage people to put in a focused six hours of work, get their tasks done, and leave at a reasonable hour in order to enjoy their evening.
Workers are more productive if they work fewer hours.
Food for thought, perhaps?
