Bland Shire Mayor Brian Monaghan has thrown his support behind a new campaign from the Country Mayors Association of New South Wales to improve health care services for residents in the bush.
The Country Mayors Association is calling on Parliament to urgently consider and adopt a raft of recommendations with the potential to deliver improved health outcomes for rural and regional communities like the Bland Shire.
"This is our opportunity to redress the deficiencies in regional and rural health delivery. We cannot let our communities down," Mayor Monaghan said.
The campaign follows the recent tabling in Parliament of the Legislative Council Inquiry into Health Outcomes and Access to Health and Hospital Services in Rural, Regional and Remote NSW.
"The Inquiry found what everybody in the Bland Shire and the rest of regional and rural NSW already knows, that health and hospital services in country NSW are below standard when compared to the service levels experienced by those residing in metropolitan areas," Mayor Monaghan said.
Mayor Monaghan is urging all regional and rural councils to get behind the efforts of the Country Mayors Association to ensure that all 44 recommendations of the Inquiry are adopted by Parliament.
"Adopting the recommendations will ensure a marked improvement in the delivery of all aspects of health care to country NSW residents which is nothing less than we all deserve," he said.
Following the tabling of the inquiry recommendations, the Country Mayors Association hosted a Rural Health Forum in Sydney on May.
The forum included presentations from the Hon Minister Bronnie Taylor MLC, Minister for Regional Health and Minister for Mental Health, Mr Ryan Park Shadow Minister for Health and Mental Health, Mr Richard Colbran, Chief Executive Officer, Rural Doctors Network, and Adjunct Professor and Ruth Stewart, National Rural Health Commissioner of Australia.
"It was very refreshing to hear that both Minister Taylor and Shadow Minister Ryan agreed that it was of the utmost importance that the consideration and debate on this very important matter of Regional and Rural Health should be approached on a bipartisan basis and should be bought before parliament as early as possible," Mayor Monaghan said.
