Warren Aubin welcomes report after sitting in hearing for parliamentary health inquiry

A report on the parliamentary inquiry into health outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional and remote NSW, released Thursday, gave a damning review of the deficiencies across the state.

Councillor Warren Aubin was one of two Bathurst Regional Council representatives to sit for a hearing as part of the inquiry last year.

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He said the findings and recommendations detailed in the report reflect the issues that were raised.

"We banged on about nurse numbers, bed numbers, specialists that were available and services that were available in our hospital that have died off, that sort of thing, and all this has been addressed," he said.

"It's about time that this report, hopefully, gets traction and we see the implementation of some of the things we've been banging on about for the last two, three years. It's not going to happen overnight, we know that, but this is a great start."

Cr Aubin, who is also part of the Bathurst Health Services Action Group, has at times felt ignored by the "bureaucrats" at the hospital and the health district.

But, with the findings of this report, he said the issues can't be ignored now.

"This report absolutely slams them in the face and says: 'You are not doing a good job with our health service. It needs to improve 100 per cent on what it is now and you better take these recommendations seriously because they need to be done'," he said.

"It's time now that people sit up and look. This was the great thing about this whole process, that the people who count got the input into this report."

READ MORE: Health inquiry findings come as no surprise to region's doctors

One of the findings of the inquiry was a lack of transparency and accountability of NSW Health and the rural and regional Local Health Districts in terms of governance.

Cr Aubin identified that as a key issue in Bathurst, and said the first step to improve local health services is more transparency and consultation with clinical staff to ensure needs are being met.

The NSW Government will need respond to the report by November 7. The committee that conducted the inquiry has also recommended a further inquiry to report on the progress and developments to address the matters raised in two years' time.

Cr Aubin said the timeline ensures there is accountability, giving him confidence that change will be forthcoming.

"It's not going to be hidden in someone's file, hoping it will go away. This report is there and out in public and everyone expects things will be done," he said.

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