Dear Ms Giddings

ROSEBERY HOSPITAL ACTION COMMITTEE

C/- # Nameof Street
Rosebery   Tasmania   7470

8^th October 2007

The Hon. Lara Giddings, MHA
10^th Floor Executive Building
15 Murray Street
Hobart   Tasmania   7000

Facimile: 6233 ####

Dear Ms Giddings,

Members of the Rosebery Hospital Action Committee attended an announcement by the Prime Minister Mr Howard today in Burnie, at which he pledged $1m of Federal funding to the Rosebery Hospital to restore services cut by the State Government. Mr Howard says “that should tide the hospital over until the State Government can fund [it] with money saved from the Mersey Hospital takeover.”

As a result we, the people of Rosebery and surrounding areas, respectfully request the Minister for Health and Human Services to take advantage of the Prime Minister’s offer by immediately acting to:

• halt renovation work in such a way that the building is safe and serviceable as a hospital;
• return the beds and inpatient equipment removed from the facility; and
• commence reinstatement of nursing staff (both permanent and casual) with a view to recommencing inpatient services within the month.

Members of the action committee were delighted with the Prime Minister’s announcement and fully endorse his call for the State Government to “do the right thing” by the Rosebery and surrounding communities. We believe this is a vote of confidence in the people of the West Coast and the mining industry.

We see this as an opportunity for Local, State and Federal Government to work together with the community and we seek an immediate indication of support from uyou in regard to the Rosebery Hospital.

The committee looks forward to a discussion with your office in the immediate future on a way forward for the Rosebery Hospital.

Yours Faithfully,

Paul O’Bryan
Chairperson

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I was handed a copy of this by a Zinifex bloke (hi!) at a community meeting in the Rosebery RSL, attended by a couple of Liberal politicians & attended by people from Rosebery, Tullah, Zeehan, Strahan, Queenstown, Cradle Mountain (much of the West Coast) & from companies such as Zinifex, Allegiance (from their Avebury mine) & (sorta) Renison Bell. Much discussion was had on the Primary Health Services Plan, various aspects of Rural Health & it’s impact on the now-blossoming mining industry.

The $1m would keep the hospital alive for about 4 years (based on existing figures), & prevent patients from being raced by ambulances (which the “Medical Centre” no longer has) for over an hour & a half up to Burnie (the alternative is 45 minutes to Queenstown, who have a smaller hospital & the next stop is Hobart — at least five hours further on in daylight.

This racing would be taking place, inevitably, over the same roads on which an accident has likely happened (for a while there, Bulgobac River, a little North of Tullah was claiming a truck a week — real two-trailer log-trucks, not delivery vans — which typically take about half a day to arrange cranes & rescue vehicles for. Each.). IMESHO, having some of the responsible pollies actually living in Rosebery, Tullah or Zeehan — where they’d be as much at risk as anyone else — would go a long way towards having them realise & fully experience the real risks involved, & cause a massive change in attitudes.

The options available to the Rosebery people are limited, & all of them except eating crow & so turning reasonable wind up with great armsful of egg in Lara’s political face. So of course she’s deferring action until “after” the next election — whenever that turns out to add up to.