The fight to keep Shellharbour Hospital in public hands has been won – and now the attention has turned to the future of Port Kembla Hospital.
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Staff and supporters are taking to the streets of the Warrawong CBD every afternoon this week as part of their campaign to save the ageing hospital.
Donnamaree Gasparrini, vice-president of the Port Kembla branch of the Health Services Union, said they were concerned that services could be relocated or cut – or that the hospital could even be closed for good.
‘’It’s an old hospital, we know that,’’ Mrs Gasparrini, a cleaner, said. ‘’But while other old hospitals are getting upgraded, Port Kembla has been left behind.
‘’Now that the decision has been made on Shellharbour and it will receive its $251 million upgrade, we’ve stepped up our campaign to say ‘Hands off our Hospital’.
‘’We’ve been out on the streets and have got a lot of support from community members, already getting 3000 signatures on our petition.’’
In 2012 the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District released its long-term plan, which flagged that some services at Port Kembla would eventually be relocated to Shellharbour Hospital.
Those plans were put on hold after the announcement in September 2016 that Shellharbour might be redeveloped under a public-private partnership. Last week the state government announced it would go ahead with the redevelopment without a private partner.
‘’Now we don’t know if our palliative care and rehabilitation wards will be moved to Shellharbour or not,’’ Mrs Gasparrini said.
‘’We also don’t know the fate of the well over 30 other services provided at Port Kembla if the hospital is closed – services including sexual and mental health, dental and interpreter services.
‘’And that leaves the local community and our staff uncertain about the future of their health services and their jobs.’’
HSU NSW secretary Gerard Hayes said the union was watching developments at Port Kembla with ‘’an eagle eye’’.
‘’The services provided at Port Kembla Hospital are critical to the Illawarra. With a growing population we can’t afford any reduction in public health services,’’ he said.
‘’The local health district has been extremely vague about its future. If any move is made to cut services at Port Kembla hospital the union will once again join forces with the local community to fight for local public health.’’
Port Kembla Hospital was officially opened in 1965, and provides care to almost 8000 patients annually.
‘’It was established there because of the people working at the nearby steelworks but has continued to be stripped of services – such as the emergency department and maternity department – over the years,’’ Mrs Gasparrini said.
‘’It currently has palliative care and rehabilitation services that are second to none, and is the only hospital in NSW with a rehabilitation pool that is free of charge to the public.
‘’If these services and facilities are lost, they may be lost forever.’’
In response to questions about Port Kembla Hospital’s future, ISLHD chief executive Margot Mains instead concentrated on Shellharbour’s redevelopment on Thursday.
‘’In light of the recent announcement that the $251 million Shellharbour Hospital redevelopment will proceed as a NSW government led-procurement the local health district is again looking at our Health Care Services Plan and what services will be provided at Shellharbour,’’ she said.
‘’It is anticipated that the redeveloped facility will provide significantly more clinical services and employment opportunities.
‘’We will continue to consult with our staff and the community on the ongoing planning and development process.’’