By Member for Tamworth, Kevin Anderson.
Rural communities like Gunnedah deserve and expect to have fair and equitable access to the same services as our city cousins.
That includes the Gunnedah Hospital helipad.
A hospital helipad is an essential part of rapid emergency medical responses for patients who are critically ill or injured.
If someone has a serious injury, that required a transfer, then time is critical, and they deserve to be transferred as quickly as possible.
We should not be put at a disadvantage just because we choose to live in regional NSW.
But that appears to be happening, with the NSW Government closing the Gunnedah Hospital Helipad.
It’s a baffling decision because a report back in 2017 raised concerns about the helipad, but it remained open up until a few months ago.
The community deserve to know why the helipad was closed, and why they weren’t consulted. I’ve written to the Minister for Health seeking answers and demanding that the helipad be reopened.
The helipad is a very important part of the health service delivery in Gunnedah, just like the Gunnedah Hospital redevelopment. Without the helipad it will incomplete.
Gunnedah Shire Council’s is also pushing to reinstate the retrieval service and is calling on the Labor Government to fix the problem and reopen the helipad.
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