f~5 Submission No. 185 ~ cs— p~c SUBMISSION BY: LQ c”A ~ .-~J6~/ ~-je~~P MENINDEE HEALTH ADVISORY COUNCIL “INQUIRY INTO LONG TERM STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS THE AGED OF THE AUSTRALIAN POPULATION OVER THE NEXT 40 YEARS - MENINDEE HEALTH ADVISORY SUBMISSION” SUBMISSION SUMMARY The Menindee Health Service facility serves an area including the town itself and smaller pockets of populations at Sunset Strip, Copi Hollow, Menindee Lakes Caravan Park, Tandou Farm and numerous pastoral properties. The catchment population is approximately 800. A third of the township’s population is Aboriginal with a 19% aboriginal representation throughoutthe entire catcbment area. The Memndee Health Advisory Council has consistently campaigned for an appropriate health facility to address the needs ofall ofthe community, in particularthe aged and disabled. Currently in Menindee there is no in-patient facility offering aged care accommodation of any form and no respite care for aged and disabled persons. The Health Advisory Council recommends the following requirements for aged persons for the current and foreseeable future in Menindee:- • A Multi Purpose Service providing six beds: Four beds are permanently designated for aged care andlor respite care for the aged and disabled; Two beds designated for observation of patients; • FourHome Units for independent living established over the next 5-10 years; • AgedDay Care programme and purpose room incorporated in Multi Purpose Service. • Financial assistance for socially disadvantaged families attempting to care for aged family members (e.g. structural changes to bathrooms). • Maintaining and expanding as necessary the in-home services currently being provided in Menindee. MenindeeHealth Advisory Council Submission - 24 February 2004 —1-- and there is a waiting list for future tenants. The homes will soon need major refurbishment or alternative accommodation will be needed; • The building site chosen for a new proposed Primary Health Care facility would accommodate expansion to a Multi Purpose Service and additional home units. The chosen site is central to the town and adjacent to the existing Menindee Homes for Aged and Disabled; • Members of the aboriginal aged population have already experienced the pam of separation from family members. It seems extremely insensitive to separate them again from families in their declining years. The Menindee Health Advisory Council feels very strongly that Menindee and area’s circumstances are exceptional and that greater consideration should be given to that fact. Whatever future actions are taken, the aged and disabled persons need to be treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve. Rick Doyle Facilitator Menindee Health ~d~soryCouncil 7 Enc. f Menindee Health Advisory Council Submission - 24 February 2004 -3- APPENDICES a. Letter from Mr Tony Lawler NIP (Federal Member for Parkes) to Menindee Health Service dated 16 July 2001. b. Letter from Ms Nyoli Bell to Ms Sally Josh (Far West Area Health Service) dated 8 April 2002. c. Letter from Ms Julia Brooks (Menindee Health Advisory Council) to Mr John Cobb MP (Federal Member for Parkes, National Party of Australia) dated 25 September 2002. d. Letter from Cathy Dwyer (Far West Area Health Service) to Ms Julia Brooks (Menindee Health Advisory Council) dated 2 October 2002. e. Letter from Ms Julia Brooks (Menindee Health Advisory Council) to Mr Peter Black MP (Member for Murray-Darling) dated 7 November 2002. f Letter from Mr Peter Black MP (Member for Murray-Darling) to Ms Julia Brooks (Menindee Health Advisory Council) dated 13 November 2002. g. Letter by Mr John Cobb MP (Federal Member for Parkes, National Party ofAustralia) “in support of the endeavours of the Menindee Health Advisory Council” dated 13 November 2002. h. Letter from Mr Craig Knowles MP (Minister for Health, New South Wales) to Mr Peter Black MP (Member for MurrayDarling) dated 10 January 2003. i. Letter from Mr John Cobb NIP (Federal Member forParkes, National Party ofAustralia) to Mrs Donna Files (Menindee Health Advisory Council) dated 23 May 2003. j. Letter from Mrs Donna Files (Menindee Health Advisory Council) to Mr John Cobb MP (Federal Member for Parkes, National Party ofAustralia) dated24- April 2003. k. Letter from Ms Jodie Doodt (Minister for Ageing) to Mr John Cobb MP (Federal Member forParkes, National Party ofAustralia) dated 10 June 2003. [. Letter from Mr John Cobb NIP (Federal Member for Parkes, National Party ofAustralia) to Mr R Doyle (Menindee HealthAdvisory Council) dated & August 2003. ni. Letter from The Hon Trish Worth MP (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Member for Adelaide) to Mr John Cobb MP (Federal Member for Parkes, National Party ofAustralia) dated 1& July 2003. n. Letter from Mr John Cobb MR (Federal Member forParkes, National Party ofAustralia) to Mr R Doyle (Menindee HealthAdvisory Council) dated 24- October 2003. o. Letter from The Hon Trish Worth MP (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Member for Adelaide) to Mr John Cobb MP (Federal Member for Parkes, NationaL Party ofAustralia) dated 3 October 2003. p. Menindee f-feafth Advisory Council records as at 18 February 2004. q. Sunset Strip statistics as at 23 February 2004. Menindee Health Advisory Council Submission - 24 February 2004 -4- TONY LAWLER, B Pharm., M.P. A~.iS RALA FEDERAL MEMBER FOR I ARKES PARLIAMENT OF AUSTRALIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AJM 16 July2001 Marie Kelly and Nyoli Bell Menindee Health Service MENINDEE NSW 2879 Dear Marie and Nyoli Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules to speak to John Cobb ~nd myself in Menindee recently. You raised a range of important issues which we discussed with the Meninc ee Food and Fibre, after speaking with you. I have written to the Minister for Health and the Cl EO of the Far Western Ai ea Health Services, requesting information on boti the status of the he~ Ith centre, as far as an upgrade goes, and also the possibility of establishin~pa multi purpose health centre in Menindee. Clearly there needs to be a pulling together of all the services in the towr to deliver the best benefits for the community. I must admit there is not a clear picture in my rr md, having also discus! ed with Nyampa the services that they provide, inciLding all the issues that Ihe community itself will have to work through to estab ish its own priorities. We will provide you with copies of the response ~that we receive from ~he Minister and the Far Western Area Health Service and I would appreciate t, if you had the time, to provide your comments on th se responses. Yours sincerely TONY LAWLER, MP Federal Member for Parkes F)> ~ L~ CL~ ~4J~LJ~— £~ & A Suite 3, 153 Brisbane Street, Dubbo NSW 2830 Telephone (02) 6812 0999 Facsir ile (02) 6882 9935 Suite 2, Brookfield House, 275 Argent Street Telephone (08) 8017 7649 Facsir ile (08) 8087 7605 Broken Hill NSW 2880 TOLLFREE 1800 801 127 Parliament House, Canberra Telephone (02) 62; 7 4950 Facsir lie (02) 6277 8419 Nyoli Bell Bono Station Via Menindee NSW 2879 8 April 2002 Ms Sally Josh Far West Area Health Service Broken Hill NSW 2880 Dear Sally After reading the ‘Draft Menindee ServicePlan March 13 2002- 1st raft, I would like to make the following comments. Whilst I am very grateftul for the acknowledgment given to the Me ndeecommunity’s health needs, feel there are serious shortcomings for the community in this first d aft. Reconunendations for the aged and disabled do not include the opti n of offering respite and hostel c e in the new facility. This issue was raised at the MenindeeHAG P1 ~ngmeetings and yet it has been omitted. Local staffhave estimated that four community people currently rec iving home care, will need a host 1 place in the next few years and there is no provision for this inMe dee. The draft also mentions tha “with increasing numbers of older people in the community, services or the fraillaged and disabled wi 1 be in increasing demand”. Correspondence in August 2001, from Senator the Hon Grant Tam ing to Mr Tony Lawler, stated t at “a Multi Purpose Service program is a joint program where the Co onwealth pools flexible aged c e fi.inding with the State health service ftinds in a manner most approp ate tothe operating realities of small rural health and aged care facilities. The Program works best~ small townsthat cannot maintai a stand alone aged care facility and where integration ofthe services i the most sensible option to allo sustainability ofthe service. Importantly it is designed to help comm ~tieswhose catchment area is such that the call on the aged care services is unevenor sporadic. Th cashing out aspect provides certainty inflinding, irrespective of the actual call on services.” Significantly, in the ‘Earlier Discharge Forumrecord ofdiscussions, ctober 2000,participants from rural and remote communities talked about the transitional gap that e olves between hospital acute car to home. Surely ifa Multi Purpose Service Program operated at Menindee, the ged and disabled people would be better looked after and therewould be an opportunity for rehabiit ion for Menindee patients with family and br friends tobe close by complimented by the chance for t eir carer/s to familiarise and le the skills needed for care recipients. The FWAHS has justified the absence of an in-patient facility at Meni deeby the number of Menindee patients being admitted to the Broken Hill hospital overthe past five y ars. These figuresdo not take into account the fact patients may be admitted to another facility, nor oes it considerthe needs of the projected population growth for the area. A reference was made in the draftto several hundred people coming i to the area as itine?ant workers. This figure is grossly underestimated .