LATEST INFORMATION.... Care Facility Brochure (PDF - 72kB) Care Facility Report (PDF - 205kB) Overview Contact Us The area around Morisset bounded by Rathmines, Cooranbong and Wyee is at the very southern end of the enormous Hunter New England Health area that stretches north to the Queensland border. At the 2006 Census the area had a population of 23 040 and an age profile 5 years higher than the national median. The proportion of people over 55 years of age is 9% above the national average. Median incomes in the area are more than 20% below the national average. This data indicates the population is skewed towards the older age groups most likely to require hospital treatment. The income profile suggests that there is a preference to free public hospital treatment compared to more costly private services. There are currently no hospital facilities in the area. The nearest hospital is Wyong 35 kms away and it is not accessible by public transport. Wyong Hospital is in another healthcare area. Serious cases are referred to either Gosford or Royal North Shore hospitals. Access to John Hunter Hospital is generally limited. The Lower Hunter Regional Strategy, known planned housing developments and the Lake Macquarie City Council (LMCC) draft Ageing Population Plan all point towards a rapid increase in population and a further ageing above the state average. The population will reach 50 000 within 15 to 20 years, a much higher rate than has so far been assumed in Hunter New England Health planning documents. Whilst research has been done on issues such as number of beds, location and disease profiles, these are matters for Hunter New England Health planners to consider as part of the preparation of a business case. History Petition Early in 2007 the Sunshine Progress Association and the Bonnells Bay Progress Association, both on the Morisset Peninsula, decided to seek public support for a Petition to the NSW Legislative Assembly drawing attention to the lack of public hospital facilities in the area There was immediate and enthusiastic support from the community. In just a few months 8000 signatures were collected and presented to the Speaker by Greg Piper MP, Member for Lake Macquarie. An additional 1000 signatures have since flowed in. Mr Piper has also spoken of the need for a Public Hospital at Morisset in the NSW Parliament. Public Meeting September 2007 To support the community initiative Mr Piper called a public meeting in September 2007 to gauge the extent of community support and to provide information. Nearly 200 people attended. They were given background information and heard a number of “horror” stories about the inadequacies of the current hospital system servicing our community. It was unanimously agreed to form a Steering Committee to progress the project at both NSW Health and political levels. Steering Committee A Steering Committee was formed. Membership of the committee is set out in Appendix D. The committee meets monthly and has researched a number of issues including 2006 Census data, Hunter New England Health Hospitals in the Hunter Valley, NSW Health planning documents, and disease frequency rates in the community. Public Meeting April 2008 At the first public meeting organizers undertook to report back to the community in about 6 months. This occurred in April 2008. Results of the research were presented and both Greg Piper, Member for Lake Macquarie, and Greg Combet, Member for Charlton spoke strongly in support of the initiative to seek a hospital at Morisset. Area For the purposes of this project a catchment area around Morisset stretches from Rathmines in the north, west to Cooranbong and south to Wyee. This area is nominal but regarded by the Steering Committee as the minimum that would be serviced by a hospital located at Morisset. Clearly we could have claimed a much larger area particularly the area around Toronto and as far north as the Fennell Bay Bridge. However, by adopting a conservative approach and matching that with comprehensive supporting data the argument becomes even more compelling. Map of Area
Currently Accessible Hospitals and other Medical Facilities The nearest hospital to Morisset and the whole of the catchment area is Wyong, about 35 kms away and not accessible by public transport. That is where an ambulance will take a patient unless prior time consuming approval is gained to go elsewhere. Serious cases then proceed to Gosford, or then on to Royal North Shore. Neither of these hospitals is reasonably assessable by public transport and GPs in the catchment area do not have automatic patient visiting rights at these hospitals. Only with specific prior approval will a patient be transferred to John Hunter Hospital, despite prior treatment by specialists at that hospital. John Hunter is 45 Kms away and not accessible by public transport. Wyong Hospital does not offer a full range of services and serious medical cases are sent on to other hospitals. The maternity ward is currently inactive because of lack of doctors. Wyong is also in a different Health Service area and many administration difficulties occur when patients are transferred to this service. There are General Practitioners at Morisset, Bonnells Bay, Dora Creek, Cooranbong, Rathmines, and Wyee but they are all either stretched or cannot accept new patients. There are no Specialist Medical Services in the area. Ancillary medical facilities in the area include pathology, radiology, optical, physiotherapy, chiropractic and massage. However in the case of radiology, services are limited and patients have to travel long distances to areas such as Gateshead and Maitland for some scans by private providers, or wait in the queue at a public hospital. It is virtually impossible to use public transport to reach these services. While there are some high care aged facilities there are no high care facilities for young disabled. There is an Ambulance Station at Morisset. Psychiatric patients at the Morisset Psychiatric Facility have general medical needs that often exceed those of the general population. A local doctor provides contract in-house consultations, but more serious conditions require that patients be transported out of the area for treatment. In this context, inmates in the Criminally Insane Unit are a special case. The distances involved to the nearest hospital with emergency facilities create life-threatening situations for both individual medical needs and for possible multiple casualty/fatality events such as a train accident, multiple vehicle accident, industrial accident, or serious boating accident, all of which are potential occurrences given the proximity of the rail line, F3 freeway, coal mines, industrial areas, and the lake. Whilst it is not envisaged that a community public hospital would cater for such emergencies a facility that could provide patient stabilisation before transport when required would also serve the community well. These points mirror the assessment above that the Morisset area is deficient in current medical services. A responsible planning approach is required for a public community hospital at Morisset to meet the needs of a rapidly increasing population in the area stretching from Rathmines to Wyee. 2006 Census Population Profile Appendix A shows extracts from the 2006 Census for the Morisset area bounded roughly by Rathmines, Cooranbong and Wyee, using postcodes 2259, 2264, 2265, 2267 and 2283. Only a small proportion of the population in postcodes 2259 and 2283 has been included, to reflect the wider areas covered by those postcodes. Comparisons are made against the Australian population as a whole. Some of the key population data findings are:
The major conclusion from these results, in relation to demand for public hospital services, is that the age profile is skewed towards those groups more likely to require hospital services. Those aged 55 and over are well above the national average while children under 15 are essentially the same as the national average. 2006 Income Profile Appendix B shows extracts from the 2006 Census for the Morisset area bounded roughly by Rathmines, Cooranbong and Wyee, using postcodes 2259, 2264, 2265, 2267 and 2283. As with the population data, only a small proportion of the population in postcodes 2259 and 2283 is included, to ensure that the weighted averages are consistent with the population proportions used. Comparisons are made against the Australian population as a whole. The median income profile is skewed 20% or more below the national median for the two most important income indicators. Again the statistics for the area are skewed significantly towards groups that are more likely to require free public hospital services, in preference to treatment by private practitioners at significant cost over the Medicare rebate. Population Forecasts When considering the likely future population trends three main sources were used: The Lower Hunter Regional Strategy released in 2007; known major housing developments in the catchment area; and the draft Lake Macquarie City Council Ageing Population Plan, currently on public display. Lower Hunter Regional Strategy The lower Hunter is forecast to be one of the fastest growing regions in NSW in the next 25 years and will be the fastest growing area of the State for people over 65 years of age. Newcastle will be confirmed as the Regional City, while Morisset will become one of six Major Regional Centres and will become the Gateway to the Lower Hunter. In this period the Lower Hunter will:
Planned Housing Developments The population around Morisset will increase rapidly with a number of major new housing developments already approved or in the planning stages, including:
These known developments total 1,850 dwellings in the Morisset Centre and 5,000 elsewhere, for a total of 6,850. This translates into a population increase of 18 860 or an 82% increase over the current population. There will be many other developments, large and small in the area, leading to the conclusion that the present population may easily reach 50,000 within 15 to 20 years, being a 117% increase over the period. Retail developments currently underway reinforce these growth predictions for the area. Coles is developing major Supermarket and Country Target stores in Morisset, plus significant Local Area Supermarkets at Cooranbong and Bonnells Bay. Woolworths has announced a major Supermarket and Specialty shops complex for Morisset. It is believed that Aldi is currently purchasing land in Morisset for a supermarket. These retail giants know where development is occurring and their current investments reinforce the proposal that the Morisset area is on a rapid growth curve. LMCC Draft Ageing Population Plan Currently on public exhibition this plan reinforces the forecasts in The Lower Hunter Regional Strategy but puts them in a local context. It forecasts that by 2022 ie less than 15 years away, the proportion of the population aged over 65 years will increase by 8%. Currently the catchment area proportion shown in Appendix A is 20.3% taking the total proportion to 28% within 15 years, or about 14000 people. The report also predicts that the city’s 85 and over age group will double from the current 1.7% to 3.3%. This analysis, when related to the forecast total population, income levels and presently inaccessible public hospitals, contributes to the compelling case for a community hospital at Morisset. Hospitals in the Hunter Valley The Hunter New England Health web site contains information about hospitals and other medical facilities in its area. Some of that data has been extracted and related to 2006 Census data to present a picture of the environments in which hospitals currently serve various districts The following is a summary:
Maitland has been omitted because it is a Referral Hospital servicing other hospitals in the Hunter Valley as well as the local community. However, we do draw attention to the relative closeness of some of the above hospitals to Maitland compared to the distances from the Morisset area to similarly equipped hospitals. The range of services offered at each Hunter Valley hospital appears to vary considerably, based on the summarized data on the web pages. However, there is a significant degree of commonality and this is reflected in the community public hospital model proposed for Morisset. We also recognize that the philosophy of hospital design and location has changed since many of the above facilities were built. Changing medical technology, new communication technology and faster transport options contribute to these changes. Hunter New England Health has adopted a cost driven model that is based on a 100 bed hospital serving a population of 100000 as being the minimum cost efficient size. However, The Hunter Urban Division of General Practice believes that there is a compelling argument based on patient care principles to support small community hospitals. Existing small public hospitals in the Hunter Valley serve their local communities well and in ways that are also appropriate to the Morisset area. NSW Health Planning Documents The Steering Committee has looked at a number of documents that impact on planning for health services in NSW. These are listed in Appendix C. Although selective there are a number of recurring themes in these documents that appear to be supportive of the case for a Public Hospital at Morisset. These include statements such as:
When looked at in the context of the demographic data presented in this report all these NSW Health planning statements are interpreted as being supportive of the case for a community hospital at Morisset. Hunter New England Health plans appear to be based on census and other information that is earlier than the latest figures available and hence out of date. Consequently the plans do not reflect the population growth forecasts currently accepted for the Morisset area. Executives at Hunter New England Health have acknowledged these shortcomings in their planning documents as well as the obvious lack of public medical facilities in the Morisset area. Hospital Model A model for a community hospital at Morisset should reflect the nature of the population it will serve at the time it is opened, as well as having the potential to be expanded to meet forecast rapid population growth. Even with the best of intentions and a strong sense of urgency by both the NSW Health Department and the State Government, the Steering Committee believes a hospital in Morisset will probably take 8 years to fund, design, build and staff. It therefore needs to be based on serving a population of 35 000 characterized by an age profile 14% higher than the national average for people 65 years and older. The group 55 to 64 years will also be considerable higher as a proportion of the total than the national average. The concept for the hospital is as follows: In Patient Facilities The unit will be based around an in patient facility that has modest capabilities. The concept is that patients requiring complex medical attention will be transferred to other more capable hospitals at John Hunter, Wyong or Gosford. The facility will include a “pharmacy” to enable nurses to administer drugs within their jurisdiction. The question of the number of beds required is a matter for NSW Health planners to assess, but on the basis of existing small community hospitals a very conservative ratio in the order of 1 bed per 750 population would suggest 47 beds minimum. Basic Accident and Emergency This is essentially a modest Casualty Department staffed by nurses on a 24/7 roster supported by on call local GPs. Capabilities would be “stitching and plastering”, plus any short term stabilization of patients waiting transport to a full service hospital. Nurse practitioners now have extensive training and authority to dispense a range of drugs for specific conditions. This will be invaluable for the type of basic emergency facility proposed. Medical Observation Local GPs report that a significant proportion of patients referred to hospitals outside the area could be treated and observed at a community hospital. These patients typically require a few days in hospital until their condition is assessed, monitored and stabilized, before returning home or being transferred to a full service hospital. Post Operative Rehabilitation Major surgical capacity is not proposed for the Morisset Community Hospital. Major surgery such as joint replacements, heart surgery etc, would continue to be performed in a major hospital, but rehabilitation would occur close to home where family and friends can provide ongoing support. A rehabilitation unit could do that as patients at this stage of their procedure would be under the care of their local GP. The need is for physiotherapy and exercise equipment, and a heated therapy pool, plus appropriately trained staff. Post Maternity Recovery A Birthing Maternity Unit is not proposed for Stage 1 of the Morisset Public Hospital. However, new mothers often benefit from a few days in hospital after birth to become accustomed to their new life. Since the hospital at which they give birth will be many kilometres away and not serviced by public transport, both the mother and the family members will benefit by having the mother and baby close to home but staying in a hospital situation. The need is for a small number of private rooms with ensuite facilities and adjoining nursery. Childhood Disease Currently 18% of the population in the area is under 15 years. Consequently childhood diseases are common but fortunately most can be treated simply. However some do require short periods of hospitalization under the supervision of their local GP. It is far preferable clinically and emotionally for children to be hospitalized for these minor ailments close to home rather than at an inaccessible distant hospital. The need is for a small number of private rooms that have ensuite facilities so that other patients are not exposed to a risk of infection. Palliative Care Currently 34% of the population in the area is over 54 years of age and this is approximately 9% higher than the national average. In addition, this area will be the fastest growing in NSW for people over 65 years during the next 20 years. Consequently the need for palliative care accommodation will increase rapidly. Aged people should be accorded the courtesy of being close to family and friends during any period in hospital in the last stages of life. The requirement is for a small number of rooms with ensuite facilities and an adjoining room for use by grieving family members. Outpatient Medical Clinics Outpatient Clinics are a fundamental service to the community provided by community hospitals. Generally they are staffed by visiting specialists in each field. The following list reflects medical and health surveys conducted by the Commonwealth Department of Health, which show that some common diseases such as diabetes and asthma, have a higher incidence in the Hunter than elsewhere. The same justification applies to these clinics as to the overall requirement for a community hospital. With a population of 23 000 that will grow to 50 000 within 20 years and is remote from any other public hospital, a facility within the local community is a right. The range of clinics include:
Other Professional Services These service areas support every other part of the hospital. While many of these are available in the area by private practitioners, they are also a necessary component of a Community Hospital. Again the argument is put forward that a population of 23 000 and rapidly increasing should not be required to travel extensive distances to obtain these services when there is no public transport network. The social disadvantage demonstrated by the 2006 Census Income Data is relevant here. The requirement is for a number of rooms where the professional can attend patients a waiting room and reception/booking facilities.
The Community Nursing Service is particularly important in the context of the age profile of the population and current Government policies aimed at allowing aged people to continue living I their own homes for as long as possible. This hospital model is not a “wish list” but a realistic assessment of what is required by a community of the current size and forecast future growth of the Morisset area. Conclusions
...or use our contact form below (name and email address are required): |
Southlake Integrated
 |
 |