New hospital fails test
Many of us naively believed that the new Bega hospital, combined with the promised staffing of the ‘Walk-In Assessment, Treatment and Care Centre’ at Pambula District Hospital by specialised and experienced registered nurses, would improve the essential health-care services in our area, for which the NSW government is responsible.
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Alas, we now hear more and more horror stories about severe shortcomings at Bega and witness the ongoing cannibalisation of facilities at PDH.
Even a cut to someone’s leg that required a few stitches is now sent on to Bega and into a very long wait there.
Where can we in the south of our shire now turn in an emergency?
While the new building at Bega is impressive, the staffing and the financial provision to run this hospital properly don’t match the architecture. The budget does not even provide adequately for cleaning – witness the spider webs!
By far the biggest concern, however, is that the NSW Government’s Health Department is providing altogether insufficient medical and technical staff.
The medical service appears to be run by a revolving-door merry-go-round of locums and visiting doctors. There is no continuity of attention to patients.
People now talk about the long waiting times in emergency.
I now hear distressing stories such as these: a patient arriving with a serious concern was sent home, only to have to come back a day later much-deteriorated.
Or the elderly patient, who was discharged from Bega hospital late in the night when no transport was available to his home in the south of the shire.
An elderly lady suffering from partial paralysis of her legs was well looked after in the short-staffed Bega Emergency Department, but then had to wait two days before being admitted to a normal bed.
I learn of the distress of the wife of an intensive-care patient, who was unable to find out the day after his admission how her husband was, because the hospital’s telephone was to an automatic answering machine and urgent calls were not returned.
Meanwhile, we have lost access to nearby, time-tested emergency services at PDH, and we learn that existing equipment – such as the X-ray machine – has been surreptitiously removed from Pambula Hospital, destination unknown.
The only consolation we have left is that the graveyards at Pambula and Eden still have plenty of space and that we can rely on an efficient, privately-run crematorium.
Wolfgang Kasper, Tura Beach
Fluoridation uncertainty
Recently, I attended an information session arranged by Merimbula dentist, Dr Maria Claudianos. As an ex-dental nurse, I was dubious that her concerns about the proposal to add fluoride to the water supplies of townships in the Bega Valley Shire were misguided. But, as I'm interested in public health and council's decision making process, I went along.
The speakers confirmed that fluoride is indeed good for teeth - but is most effective when applied topically directly to the teeth and much less effective when ingested. It seems that there are few studies of the long-term effects of ingested fluoride. And what evidence there is of the benefits and risks is contradictory.
I have to admit that I am now uncertain about the role of fluoride in drinking water. I can't be certain that it's completely safe for all who drink it. I am certain that it can damage the appearance of teeth. This contentious decision - to fluoridate or not - is not one which I want any government making on my behalf.
Lastly, if we are truly concerned about the state of children's teeth surely we should be investing in educating parents and children about nutrition and oral hygiene, and providing affordable dental care. Now there's an idea.
