Hunter New England Health to close Uralla Community Health Service, Adam Marshall demands it stay open

Hunter New England Health announced it will close the Uralla Community Health Service at the end of the month due to asbestos in the building.

The move was discovered after parents tried to book appointments for their children in the next month, Mr Marshall said.

"This decision to rip vital health services out of Uralla was taken without any consultation with the community and with no prior warning - but we're not going to wear it," he said.

"It directly contradicts the government's policy, made clear again recently by the Premier, that no public service jobs are to be removed from regional communities due to the current crippling drought conditions.

"Closing the clinic will see jobs lost in Uralla and local mothers and other patients having to access health services in Armidale."

The clinic is located at the corner of Bridge and Wood Streets and services a number of rural families in the region.

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Mr Marshall has written to Minister for Health Brad Hazzard and Hunter New England Health chief executive Michael DiRienzo to demand the clinic remain open.

"It's horrible to think a decision which effects so many would be made without any community consultation," he said.

"I understand asbestos poses a potential health risk however I want the service kept open while I work with the management of the HNEH to find an alternative location for the clinic in Uralla."

A location for a new clinic is hoped to be identified in the interim.

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