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No access to any health care over Christmas

Posted By woodpeckerdd47

"No access to any health care over Christmas"

About: Jerramungup Health Centre

(as a service user),

Planned closure of Jerramungup nursing post. I believe you are leaving a community with no health care for 12 whole days over the busy Christmas period. It seems to me the roads are busy, farmers are still harvesting, many St John’s Volunteers are away. I understand another town, which is over 100 to 150kms away from the main areas of the shire and not centrally located or near any of the major highways that intersect the shire, gets an on call nurse all this time and it seems to me we get nothing. There is no ED close by, so I feel we are basically left unattended.

This is unacceptable in my view, to leave a community with seemingly no health care for 12 whole days. I believe health direct will just say go to your nearest ED. There is also no point in driving to the other town, which I feel is not centrally located, to be then told no, go to Albany, as the other town is down a one way road. In my opinion, this situation is untenable. I believe there are many young children in town including newborn babies

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Responses

Response from Trisha Power, MPS Operations Manager, Operations, WACHS Great Southern 2 years ago
We have made a change
Trisha Power
MPS Operations Manager, Operations,
WACHS Great Southern

Operations Manager

Submitted on 30/12/2021 at 4:47 PM
Published on Care Opinion on 31/12/2021 at 10:22 AM

picture of Trisha Power

Dear woodpecker47,

Thank you for sharing your story on Care Opinion regarding the planned closure of Jerramungup Health Centre over the Christmas period. As you will appreciate, the Jerramungup Health Centre is generally staffed by a single nurse with support from various telehealth specialties and the regional health center, and it operates Monday to Friday between 9 am to 4 pm. Outside of these opening times, and including over the weekends, there is an after-hours on-call service. The after-hours numbers for emergencies and urgent calls are displayed on both the inside and outside of the Health Centre. During the festive period, it is usual to close over both Christmas and New Year including the associated Public Holidays.

In determining the best way forward to provide health care to the Jerramungup community over this festive season, we have liaised with community members from Jerramungup and as a result of this consultation, we have arranged for the Jerramungup Health Centre to be open on Wednesday 29 December from 9am until 4pm and we have been informed that the Medical Center will have a GP on-site on Thursday 30 December 2021. Outside of these times, the usual after-hours on-call service will apply, the numbers for both emergency calls ( 000) and urgent calls via Health Direct ( 1800 022 222 ) during the Center's closing days have been shared with the Jerramungup Shire and at other community organizations.

If you would like to chat further about this or any other matters raised, please contact me on 98427501 / 0429 103 370 or via email trisha.power@health.wa.gov.au.

Kind regards,

Trisha Power

MPS Operations Manager

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