Still no rehabilitation unit

The mood of members of the Woy Woy Hospital Alliance at the June meeting had changed from the one of trust, tempered by impatience, of the May meeting to one of anger and a sense of betrayal.

Despite Mr Holstein's clarion pre-election declarations of last March, nothing constructive seemed to have happened in the Central Coast Health Complex.

The City of Gosford was still without a rehabilitation unit in its public hospitals, and there had been no sign that Woy Woy Hospital would have its unit restored.

Mr Holstein has not communicated directly with us and we are not impressed by his published statements.

There is in them no note of concern, but rather one of "all will be well and we might know more in September".

Mr Holstein and his Minister knew in March that the rehab ward was being partitioned for various other uses.

What instant steps did his government take, on election, to stop those works and have the contract bought out in the early stages at low cost?

Mr Holstein said that a new unit may be in another position in the hospital.

Has the Department of Planning been approached and the hospital consulted?

Will existing services be displaced?

Members have expressed fears that the administration of the newly liberated Central Coast Health Complex may contain staff who were responsible for the closure of the unit.

Is this so?

Have our newly elected government MPs satisfied themselves that there are no entrenched bureaucrats who will stand in the way of even Ministerial intentions?

Finally, why was the unit closed in the face of a Health Department report of 2007 to double its size?

No credible reason has ever been given.

Perhaps we shall never know.

However, it must be restored without delay.

Potential patients and their families have suffered for nearly three years because of the original blunder.

Email, 6 Jul 2011 Kay Williams, Pearl Beach