Councils unite to advocate for better health outcomes

Published on 13 August 2024

Serious concerns about the provision of health care services to meet the needs of rural and regional communities across North East Victoria have been aired at a special meeting of Indigo, Alpine and Towong Shire Councils.

Mayors and Councillors from the three councils held an historic joint meeting in Beechworth today where they voted unanimously to take a united stance to advocate for better health services for the region, including a single site hospital built on a greenfield site. (Adopted resolution below)

Held in the historic Beechworth Town Hall, the three Councils endorsed several advocacy action items including calling for the State Governments of Victoria and New South Wales to pause the current redevelopment plans for the Albury Hospital and redirect efforts towards a new single site facility development in either Albury or Wodonga.

Indigo Shire Mayor Sophie Price said that with the current healthcare infrastructure plans, the communities of Alpine, Indigo and Towong are genuinely facing the prospect of substandard health services for decades to come.

“If governments do not understand that this issue is at the heart of what our communities want us to advocate for, then they seriously do not understand our communities.  Health services are the most important issue for all three Shires and this is far too important for us not to continue to fight for,” Cr Price said.

Alpine Mayor, John Forsyth said Albury-Wodonga Health is the third largest health service in Victoria, servicing a population base of 300,000 people and yet the funding being put forward by the Victorian Government falls well short of what is required to provide the region with quality health care services.

Towong Mayor Andrew Whitehead gave a personal account of how his young son had to be airlifted to Canberra to get the necessary care required for a broken leg and the impact this had on his family having to travel so far to be by his son’s side.

“To not have a trauma centre that is up to the standard of care that he required in a regional centre the size of Albury-Wodonga is not ok,” Cr Whitehead said.

Indigo Councillor, Sue Gold told the meeting that now is a critical moment in time in that the decisions being made today will determine the capacity to respond to the future health care needs of a growing region.

All three Mayors agreed there has never been a greater level of collaboration not only between the three councils but also health care professionals and advocates, surrounding councils and the community on a single issue.

Included in the resolution is for the CEOs of each council to advocate for and communicate the adopted position with the Victorian, NSW and Federal Governments and the board of Albury Wodonga Health.

Watch a recording of the full meeting

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Resolution adopted at joint meeting

That Alpine/Indigo/Towong Councils endorse the following actions to address the critical healthcare infrastructure needs in Albury-Wodonga:

1. Call upon the Federal Government and the State Governments of Victoria and New South Wales to come together and collaborate for the provision of a health service which meets the current and future needs of all of the regional communities within the catchment of AlburyWodonga Health;
2. Support the development of a new single-site hospital for Albury-Wodonga Health on a greenfield location;
3. Advocate for immediate funding to commence the planning and construction of the new hospital;
4. Call for the State Governments of Victoria and New South Wales to pause the current redevelopment plans for the Albury Hospital and redirect efforts towards a new single site development in Albury-Wodonga;
5. Acknowledge and endorse the endeavours to have immediate provision of modular units at the Albury Hospital campus to ensure sufficient beds are available to address the ongoing daily deficit of beds, and request that the two State governments provide urgent funding for this purpose; and
6. Authorise the respective CEOs of Alpine, Indigo and Towong to advocate for, and communicate this position statement with the States of Victoria and New South Wales, the Federal Government, and with the Board of Albury-Wodonga Health.