A PUBLIC meeting to inform the community of protocols that prevent trauma patient treatment at Manning Hospital will not be a "witch hunt" or “political ambush”.
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Former Greater Taree City Council deputy mayor Alan Tickle and Taree-Wingham Race Club chairman Greg Coleman will host the meeting in June and seek the attendance of key health and government representatives. A date is to be determined.
Mr Tickle says "despite providing assurances that any public meeting will have a strict scope of information and remedy with no political ambush, there is a reluctance across all of those stakeholders at this stage to address the community via a public meeting.
"There will be no witch hunt or ambush with respect and even dialogue only tolerated."
Mr Tickle says the community wants change and rectification of the protocols set by the NSW Government.
"Approaches have been made to both northern sector NSW ambulance and hospital with dates to address a public meeting to explain and for NSW Health to review its criteria."
Manning Hospital and its classification in the NSW Trauma Plan is with the NSW Health Minister, according to member for Myall Lakes Stephen Bromhead.
Mr Bromhead says he recently wrote to Minister Jillian Skinner to request a review of Ambulance Service of NSW Protocol T1 – the directive in the plan that requires ambulance service personnel to bypass Manning Hospital for Port Macquarie Base Hospital if trauma patients have moderate to major trauma.
He also advised that the NSW Institute of Trauma and Injury Management is conducting an evaluation of trauma services across the State, with a specific focus on patient outcomes.
“Manning Hospital is staffed in line with the services provided in Taree and is complemented by services offered at John Hunter Hospital. This ensures our patients receive the highest quality trauma care,” he said.