Hospital closure put on hold

The Illawarra Area Health Service’s plans to close Bulli Hospital’s surgical wards over Christmas have been thwarted by the Health Minister, but his final decision was still to go ahead and close the surgeries in the long term.

Community fears that the removal of day surgeries from Bulli will increase waiting lists have been fuelled by sections of the Garling report into the state’s public hospitals, which recommends Bulli Emergency Department be closed, and raises questions about keeping a hospital open if it doesn’t have an ED.

Despite this the practising doctor and politician whose recommendations lead to the decision has predicted a stronger role for Bulli Hospital over the next two decades than it has currently.

Dr McDonald has said he doesn’t think Bulli ED should or will be closed – but might suffer a change in how it is advertised.

“The most you would get would be a change at the sign in front of the door but the actual system they’ve got at Bulli – you do need to have some form of emergency system running out of Bulli Hospital,” he said.

In terms of the hospital facing complete de-activation, Dr McDonald predicted the need for beds for the elderly means Bulli’s long-term future is secure.

The MP wouldn’t be baited on whether the Area Health Service had been rash in its decision to close the theatres for good this year but said his report demanded that the service “show us the alternative arrangement that you can run better than Bulli before you close it.”

He said in economic terms surgeries have to go elsewhere in the long term.

“(It’s) is a bit like a family running three cars,” he said.

“You can do it, but it is more expensive to run three cars than two.”

The news may still be bittersweet for those campaigning to keep the surgeries open.

Last week the Northern Illawarra Chamber of Commerce spoke out against the closure of the surgeries, partially because of the hardship it would cause community members who needed surgery but would find it difficult or impossible to travel to Wollongong or Shellharbour for treatment.