AFTER the past year or so that we have witnessed on Bathurst Regional Council, any topic that has Alex Christian and Jacqui Rudge singing from the same hymn book must be worth a second look.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Both councillors have come out in the past week criticising the decision to shut BreastScreen NSW services during the COVID-19 lockdowns across the state.
NSW Health made the decision to temporarily halt BreastScreen services "in response to the increasing risk posed by the COVID-19 Delta strain and a need to redeploy staff to support the pandemic response at each local health district".
No-one could seriously think this decision has been taken lightly and we must all appreciate the incredibly difficult position our health authorities are in at the moment.
IN OTHER NEWS: A super spring's on the horizon for farmers
But halting such a vitally important, potentially life-saving service naturally raises serious questions about how we're responding to the coronavirus crisis.
It also seems to be contrary to the regular pleas we've heard from health professionals over the past 18 months for people not to allow COVID-19 to take their focus away from other health risks. That must surely include women continuing regular breast screens, an opportunity they've now been denied.
What's worse, with no end in sight for this lockdown for the immediate future - and with Premier Gladys Berejiklian warning just this week that October was likely to be the month our hospitals would face the greatest pressure from COVID-19 admissions - no-one can say for sure just how long the temporary shutdown of BreastScreen services might last.
Cr Rudge has a particular personal interest in this story as a breast cancer survivor and so her experience must carry some extra significance.
"In my particular case, self-checking would not have picked up the cancer," Cr Rudge told the Western Advocate this week. "It was picked up through a mammogram."
At the end of the day, though, it really isn't a question for NSW Health; it is a question for the NSW Government.
If a lack of resources have meant BreastScreen services have had to close then resources need to be improved.
It's never easy for a government to juggle its many priorities and even more difficult with a one-in-a-100-year pandemic demanding constant attention.
But the community's health cannot be compromised. A way must be found.
