2 weeks Ago By Fiona Ferguson
A man waited three days to be told he had suffered a major heart attack after presenting to Gunnedah Hospital with bad chest pains on the Friday of a long weekend. Login or signup to continue reading That was just one of the personal examples shared in a 'draft' submission to the Health Services Amendment (Splitting of the Hunter New England Health District) Bill 2025, and prepared for Gunnedah Shire Council. The man returned to the hospital three times that same night and he was sent home with indigestion tablets.
It wasn't until blood test results came back on the following Tuesday that he was told to "get himself into hospital because he had suffered a major heart attack". The man was subsequently transferred to Tamworth, where three stents were inserted. He has fully recovered.
In another example, a person was transferred by ambulance to Tamworth to receive six sutures "because there was no doctors on duty at my local hospital". Others refer to long waits in the Emergency Department (ED) as "normal" and doctors who complete long shifts as "exhausted". But none of that was enough to convince Gunnedah councillors to support calls for the health district to be split into two.
Instead, they have endorsed a motion for a 'review' of the health service. Barwon MP Roy Butler is advocating for the Bill to address concerns about the equitable distribution of resources and improve healthcare outcomes in regional areas. The Bill, which was introduced to Parliament in late February, calls for the creation of two separate local health districts: Hunter and New England North West.
Mr Butler has previously said the catalyst for the Bill was the "disrespectful, dismissive and often inaccurate" response he received from the authority over concerns raised about Wee Waa Hospital, which hasn't had a 24/7 emergency unit since May 8, 2023. Wee Waa is the only hospital in Australia that closes its emergency from 5.30pm until 8am , with the facility's 18 beds remaining empty.
In February, Regional Health Minister Ryan Park said a split was not on the table. It would only "duplicate existing services, stretching resources and capacity without solving critical recruitment challenges", he said at the time. The two districts were amalgamated in 2004.
It is the only health district delivering services to rural and remote areas that is administered from a metropolitan base. In March, Gunnedah Shire Council put a survey to residents to better understand their concerns with health care in the region. Asked if the health district should be split, the majority of respondents said yes (73.
61pc), while 15.28pc said no, and 11.11pc were indifferent to the idea.
When asked what challenges the current health district faced (with respondents able to choose as many as applied), 84.72pc listed a need for specialist health services and a need for more staff as equal biggest challenges, followed by a need for more general health services and, separately, a need for more resources (equipment, facilities) at 80.56pc, coordination of services (54.
17pc), accountability (48.61pc), and administration costs (31.94pc).
When they were asked what was working well, 64.28pc opted for none of the choices provided and 29.17pc said general health services were working well.
The majority of respondents to the survey had lived in the shire since before 2018, with 83.33pc describing overall health services in the Gunnedah Shire as "unsatisfactory". But at last week's meeting, councillors decided not to endorse a submission that would have called for the health district to be split.
Instead, they will call on the NSW Minister for Health to 'review' the performance of Hunter New England Health Services in light of the survey. The council's call for a review will be accompanied by the results of the survey. Councillors were concerned the survey, which had just 72 responses, may not have been completely representative of the entire community.
Cr Rob Hooke told the meeting he was worried there was not enough information to make a proper 'informed' decision, based on the health needs of the population. "There are so many unanswered questions" regarding whether the funds would be available to enable the split and what it would mean for patients, with regard to access to more specialist care at John Hunter Hospital, he said. But the survey did show a "complete lack of trust" for the health service he said, and that's why he moved the motion calling for a review.
"It will flag to the minister and Hunter New England Area Health Service that we are dissatisfied and, hopefully, they might take some notice," he said. The deadline for submissions on the Bill has now been extended to May 8. Submissions can be made to the official inquiry page.
I work for the Northern Daily Leader across the Peel Valley. We cover local news, community stories and rural issues that impact the New England, North West and Northern Tablelands regions. I work for the Northern Daily Leader across the Peel Valley.
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