5. Reinstate the once successful “Hospital Board” system, which was entirely sourced from local people and was greatly successful, along with the efforts of local hospital auxiliaries.

6. None of this requires “new” service; the services already exist with current Bega and Pambula hospitals, being fully operational.

Elizabeth Cameron

Kiah

The Editor

I am writing this letter to share my many and varied concerns about the gradual decline in services at Pambula Hospital.

Obstetrics, children’s, cardiac monitoring and now emergency/ambulance services have all been downgraded or removed.

There may very well be other services that I am unaware of too?

As a mother of three children it worries me greatly that if they get hurt or fall suddenly ill they cannot go to the nearest place for immediate treatment and also longer term care if required.

Added to this is the fact that Pambula Hospital is a familiar place to them with staff that they probably know from around our local community.

Surely this can only help a child who would most likely be distressed already if they require hospital treatment?

As a business owner and employer of 10 staff in an industrial factory the downgrading of emergency services may also have further reaching consequences if one of our staff suffers an injury in the workplace.

Our factory is located at South Pambula, only minutes from the Pambula Hospital.

To add 25 minutes travelling time to Bega in the event of a major accident may mean the difference between life and death for our staff.

My mother was visiting the area recently and required Cardiac monitoring due to arrhythmia.

She was taken to Pambula by ambulance and then shuffled to Bega, again by ambulance, as there was no monitored bed at Pambula.

Surely this is a waste of ambulance time and resources as the equipment to deal with this condition has been at Pambula in the past along with staff able to deal with the situation.

We hear at a public meeting held in Pambula on November 13, 2008 that Bega Hospital is cancelling elective surgery almost every day due to the overflow of maternity patients spilling into the surgical beds.

Why should the patients and staff at Bega Hospital be expected to have to deal with the angst that would be caused to patients by constantly having their surgery postponed?

We hear that locums are being brought into the area to try and plug some of the gaps in the obstetrics roster at Bega.

This is at a huge cost (apparently more than it cost to keep Pambula open??) These poor mothers, particularly first timers, must now also face delivering their babies with complete strangers looking after them.

We hear that ambulances are being directed to bypass Pambula Hospital and go straight to Bega.

How must the people of Eden and beyond feel knowing that their ambulance will be out of the area for at least an hour longer EVERY time someone needs to be taken to hospital?

This is not about Bega versus Pambula as both facilities need each other to function efficiently.

They both have a very important role in our Shire, but the fact remains that a large part of the Shire’s population reside in the southern regions, therefore it makes absolute sense to keep the previous services and facilities available to the bulk of the population rather that moving them further away. As we know public transport is not as readily available in country areas as it is in built up areas.

The downgrading of services to Pambula Hospital will also impact on the economy of Pambula itself.

If there are less or no staff or patients at the hospital then the local shops start to lose customers.

Staff ducking out on breaks to go to the post office, friends and family ducking out for coffee or picking up essentials for patients from the chemist or supermarket, flowers from the florist, accommodation and meals if people have come from Mallacoota perhaps?

Then there are the suppliers to the hospital who would also lose out.

I’m sure there are many people in our community that could give plenty of other reasons for restoring the services that we have come to rely on in Pambula Hospital and I hope that with the combined information of all concerned we can see this happen.

Kim Hammond

Tura Beach

A piquant, intoxicating blend of rural simplicity, community diversity and desire combined with the divine spark of creativity enriched those who participated and shared in the experience of the Wyndham Art Exhibition over the weekend of November 7 -9.

Aileen Trezise officially opened the show on the Friday evening with gracious and eloquent comment on the unique nature of the event and its significance to the local community.

Grant Webster boisterously emceed the night, engaging the audience with googled quotes and cultural insights.

Karen Webber, president of the Merimbula and District Arts Group, judged the Friday Night award and Youth Award.

Karen addressed the audience and discussed her decisions and comments on the winning art works.

Saturday hosted children’s workshops and performances by the Wyndham School of Dance, the Wyndham School of Music and the Wyndham Hymn Singers.

The performances highlighted the diversity of the community, whilst reflecting and embracing the passion shared by all the performers.

It was a wonderful day.

Sunday was a day of tranquil spring beauty.

The Wyndham Hall of Arts was just perfect.

The art, the flowers, the Devonshire teas being baked in the Hall kitchen set the scene for visiting musicians from Candelo.

Two violinists, a pianist and a man with a trombone......it doesn’t get any better.

The Wyndham Public School’s P&C Association would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of the Wyndham Art Exhibition 2008.

Wyndham Public School is interested in building an email list for entrants and sponsors for 2009.

If you are interested in receiving information about the Exhibition in 2009 and would like to support, participate in, contribute to, or sponsor the show could you please email your details to:

wyndhamp.school@det.nsw.edu.au