Rehab unit announcements welcome

I welcome the news that the State Government has committed some $5 million to re-open Woy Woy rehab unit, honouring an election pledge.

It has been over three years since a committee was formed to fight the closure of the unit in which the community was given no say, even though it was an important Central Coast facility and had been partially funded over the years by the community.

The Woy Woy Public Hospital Alliance has met regularly once a month over that period and has had between 20 to 50 attendees at each meeting which shows that the community was not going to let rehab close without a fight.

The Member for Gosford Chris Holstein and new Health Minister Jillian Skinner supported us strongly over those three years and urged us not to give up, despite being told at a public meeting by a local candidate that the unit would never re-open and get over it.

Those involved in the fight to keep the rehab unit open also believed that, rightly or wrongly, there was an agenda to close Woy Woy Hospital and sell off the land.

This week's announcement that not only will the rehab unit be reopened but an extra $9 million will be allocated to 20 subs acute beds for the Woy Woy Hospital by the Federal Government has allayed those fears and has provided much needed new sub-acute beds for the Peninsula.

I and the members of the Woy Woy Hospital Alliance look forward to seeing the new facilities reopened in the next 18 months.

Email, 14 Oct 2011 Bob Mudge, North Gosford