We must speak up about health
I attended the health forum hosted by Wodonga Council on Friday, where despite politicians' frequent use of buzzwords like "co-design" and "community engagement", there was limited community involvement.
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Clinicians like Dr David Clancy emphasised the pressing need for a single-site hospital on the Border, where patients often encounter recurring cancellations of operations and difficulties accessing essential treatments due to distance.
However, consumer voices are often marginalised in these processes, highlighting the necessity for community participation in decision-making.
Dr Amanda Cohn MLC's recent Freedom of Information (FOI) releases revealed deficiencies in meeting community needs, prompting a begrudging acknowledgment from health service leadership. It's regrettable that transparency required an FOI request, underscoring the need for greater accountability to our border community from politicians and the AWH board.
How many forum attendees, shaping decisions, are actual health service consumers or clinicians? This raises questions about the governance of local health services, which should prioritise community accountability over political influence. The forum's impactful moments were speeches by representatives like Dr Cohn, exemplifying effective community representation, and clinical leaders like Dr Clancy, who instilled hope for addressing clinicians' needs.
It's time to speak up; invisibility is no longer an option.
Richard Hendrie, Lavington
Plaque dedication a great day
The dedication of the commemoration for women's service plaque was held on March 2 in the Rutherglen Memorial Gardens and was attended by ex-servicewomen from around the North East. The guest speaker was Colonel Clare Kellaway. Colonel Kellaway is the Commander Joint Logistics Unit (Victoria). Colonel Kellaway spoke of her 30 years in the service and the role of women today and how it has changed.
Women serving today do not have the boundaries once faced and they are able to join and perform all duties that were once the sole responsibilities of men. This message is pertinent as this week, March 8, marks International Women's Day.
I would just like to thank all those ex-servicewomen who attended and sent photos of themselves in uniform and the people of Rutherglen who turned out to support the day. It was a great day for all women and let us hope it is the beginning of a lot more memorial parks recognising women.
