“Because when someone is dying, they don’t have that choice to be home, they don’t have time.
- Campaigner Mitch Williams
PALLIATIVE care advocates are ratcheting up their campaign in Tamworth, with no extra specialists to show, despite 15 months of campaigning and promises.
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In December last year, Hunter New England Health (HNEH) committed to putting on additional palliation clinical nurse specialist.
This position is still vacant more than four months after the announcement.
“I had a meeting with [executive director of regional and rural health services] Susan Heyman two weeks ago, they didn’t get any person that they deemed successful in that,” Tamworth campaigner Mitch Williams said.
“They’re re-advertising and they are looking at up-skilling internally, which is going to be months away before you’d actually have anyone on the ground.”
Tamworth’s palliation plight
- Caring until the end: United by their grief
- Cancer Council joins local advocates in campaign for more palliative care services
- Palliative care advocate slams Tamworth's staffing figures as ludicrous and shocking
- Sarah Mitchell urges new rural health parliamentary secretary to continue palliative care progress
- Deputy Premier John Barilaro meets with Tamworth palliative care campaigners and offers a strong commitment
- Cancer Council New England North West calls on clubs and groups to join palliative care campaign
- Cancer Council calls for Tamworth businesses to back palliative care campaign
- Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson wants a training program to boost palliative nurse numbers in region
- Hunter New England Health commit to additional palliative care nurse in Tamworth
But Mr Williams said that getting more community-based palliative care specialists couldn’t wait any longer.
“It does take time and, at the moment, that’s what every one is lacking,” he told The Leader.
“Because when someone is dying, they don’t have that choice to be home, they don’t have time.
“Everyone is talking about, ‘give us some time, we’ll get there’. It’s not good enough.”
The next month will be quite telling, Mr Williams said, with the NSW Health Minister planning roundtable meetings on palliative care in key regional towns including Tamworth in May.
The meetings will be chaired by Parliamentary Secretary for regional and rural health Leslie Williams, who Tamworth’s advocate will meet with next week.
“The Local Health District need to make some fast decisions as they build the model so we do start servicing those in need of palliation,” he said.
“They keep saying ‘health is not a business’, maybe it should be treated a little more like a business.
“I know that in my business I’d be broke if I acted with the same speed.”
Tamworth hospital general manager Catharine Death “recruitment for the additional full-time community palliative care Clinical Nurse Specialist to the Tamworth Palliative Care Service is underway.”
“We are committed to ensuring the person we employ to the position has the right experience and is the right person to provide this vitally important service to our community,” Ms Death said.
“We will be identifying the most appropriate delegates to participate in the NSW palliative care roundtables.
“HNEH looks forward to participating and learning about how we can deliver better end-of-life care locally to our patients.”