Jerilderie hospital’s emergency department has closed temporarily due to “significant challenges securing healthcare staff”.
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Murrumbidgee Local Health District announced the closure late Thursday, and took effect on Monday.
In a statement, MLHD said that despite extensive recruitment efforts, the service has a number of nursing vacancies it has been unable to fill to ensure ongoing safe patient care.
That is why it made “the difficult decision to temporarily reduce some services” at Jerilderie MPS.
“We acknowledge this is disappointing for the local community and apologise for the inconvenience this may cause,” MLHD said.
An end date for the closure has not yet been provided, with MLHD saying it would be reviewed monthly.
Independent member for Murray Helen Dalton MP said the sudden closure for a minimum of one month is a “red alert”, pointing to a health crisis.
It means Jerilderie residents will need to go to Finley for emergency treatment, which is a 25 minute drive.
“This sudden announcement is of the utmost concern,” Mrs Dalton said.
“This could mean the difference between life and death.
“I shudder to think what the consequences could be. A lot could happen in 25 minutes.”
“This crisis underlines everything I have been saying for years about the need to improve regional health services, right here and now.”
Murrumbidgee Council Mayor Ruth McRae told the Southern Riverina News that she was disappointed but not surprised by the temporary closure.
“We’ve been experiencing significant workforce challenges for an extended period of time now, so I wasn’t surprised but I was disappointed that it had come to this,” she said.
Cr McRae, who is also the chair of the Jerilderie Local Health Advisory Council (LHAC), said she is hopeful that at this point in time “it will only be three months”.
“I am confident that the local health district will be doing all they can to make sure that this is for as short a period of time as possible,” she said.
“We can only do what we can do, and at all times we need to ensure that our permanent residents and our acute services that we do offer are all able to be serviced as best they can for the people involved.
“We need to be very mindful that the permanent staff we do have there are doing their very best to help keep this facility operational and they’ve been working under significant duress for a long time now.”
But Cr McRae said it is not unique to Jerilderie MPS and that “not having enough healthcare staff is a significant challenge nationally”.
“This is not just a small rural community’s plight, this is a national plight,” she said.
“We are at the tipping point here at the moment, but it is a national issue and trying to address it, obviously, is really really challenging.”
Mrs Dalton stressed that the emergency department at Jerilderie Hospital needed to be reopened as soon as possible, and that she will be doing everything she can to seek immediate action from the NSW Government.
“I feel for the people of Jerilderie and the hospital staff who do so much to care for our sick,” she said.
“To have this happen, with so little warning, is a shock to the town and the wider Riverina community. Understandably people will be asking, what next?”.
“I have contacted the Health Minister Ryan Park to seek a meeting, to quickly work out what can be done.”
Mrs Dalton said she will be seeking “concrete assurances” from the NSW Premier Chris Minns and Mr Park, that the closure is not “the first step in closing the emergency department for good”.
“This closure can only ever be considered as a temporary, although unwelcome, expedient,” she said.
“I will not stand for a permanent closure of this vital facility, and neither will the people of Murray, nor should we. This service is an integral part of healthcare in the region, and needs to stay that way now and into the future”.
Under these temporary arrangements, MLHD said patients from Jerilderie requiring urgent emergency care should call 000 for an ambulance.
“We are working closely with New South Wales Ambulance to maintain 24/7 access to emergency care and facilitate rapid transfers to the closest specialist care centre when required,” MLHD said.
“If an illness or injury is not life-threatening, residents are encouraged to visit their GP or call Healthdirect Australia on 1800 022 222, which is a 24-hour telephone health advice line staffed by registered nurses to provide fast, expert advice on any health issue and what to do next.
“The temporary changes will support our dedicated staff and ensure the continuation of safe, high-quality healthcare services for all patients while nursing recruitment continues.
“MLHD recognises and is deeply thankful for the outstanding commitment and tireless efforts of our nurses and midwives.”
MLHD has established a Critical Vacancy Taskforce, which is working on short and medium term solutions to boost workforce capacity, including incentives to attract staff such as relocation payments, interim accommodation, and education and career pathways.
Cr McRae said three nurses have already been secured for Jerilderie, but the availability of suitable accommodation continues to be a hurdle.
MLHD is working with Murrumbidgee Council on the provision of additional key worker accommodation in Jerilderie.