BATHURST'S health action group and the health district both want the same thing for Bathurst Hospital.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That's according to Western NSW Local Health District CEO Scott McLachlan, though he says the action group has sometimes reacted to rumours rather than fact.
The Bathurst Health Services Action Group, whose spokesman is councillor Warren Aubin, has been persistent in its criticism of the level of service at the hospital and whether it is able to cater for the city.
The group has been at pains, however, to say it is not criticising the hospital staff themselves.
The action group said it had lost confidence in the health district in 2019 and has previously provided a list of what is needed at the hospital to state member Paul Toole.
"I know there's been a lot of concern expressed around the capability of Bathurst Hospital," Mr McLachlan told the Western Advocate.
"There's always a dream and a desire to have more services. So that's what we've been trying to do - expand the services in Bathurst Hospital.
"Unfortunately, I think the health action group has reacted to a number of rumours that just haven't been founded in fact or reality.
"But I hope we can try to dispel some of those myths for the community - that there has been additional services added to Bathurst, that of the patients that come to Bathurst Hospital, the vast majority get good care in a timely way."
Bathurst Regional Council, in a supplementary submission this year to the parliamentary inquiry into health outcomes, said the city's medical professionals were experiencing a "corrosion of confidence in the system" and said the local health district was "not an effective listener".
Mr McLachlan told the Advocate that the health district does occasionally have cause to say sorry.
"We know that we don't get it right for absolutely every patient [at Bathurst Hospital], and there's certainly times when we really do express an apology," he said.
But he said it's the intention "for all of our clinical staff at Bathurst to make sure that every patient gets really good quality care and that they feel as though they've been supported with the health issues that they've had".
"I think the action group has really tried to raise the bar on what services we have for Bathurst and that's clearly the intention that we've got," he said.
