March 2017 | Elizabeth Douglass

OVER A hundred people, from every corner of the Meander Valley, attended the public meeting hosted by Meander Valley Council in response to cuts to rural health services.

Concerned locals, councillors, health workers, volunteers, community group representatives those who access preventative care, and local politicians were keen to share experiences and voice opinions on the replacement of previous services by the new Primary Health Tasmania tenders.

Brian Mitchell MP agreed with local resident Graham Dent who summed up the evening’s theme, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it!”

There were many questions about the funding shift from preventative care to chronic health management. Mayor Craig Perkins was well-supported when he expressed the Council’s deep concern about the inevitable consequences of cutting funds without a safety net for transition.

Locals stressed the valuable contributions made to Meander Valley health outcomes over the past decade or more. Many were fearful of a backward slide now these contributions are cut.

Examples ranged from additional educational opportunities in local schools, seniors’ activities for improving mental and physical fitness, mental health and socialisation strategies combating rural isolation, to youth suicide prevention.

A common thread was anger at the lack of local consultation.

PHT CEO Phil Edmondson made a clear response, explaining that federal government policy and Department of Health funding is now directed towards chronic health management and the PHT tendering process must reflect this.

He acknowledged a lack of prior local consultation and the unavailability of relevant local data. It was unclear whether this was considered a failure by local organisations to make their case beforehand or by the federal government to consult at a local level.

By the end of the evening it was clear that the situation is unchanged, although further local consultation was promised.

State and federal politicians all expressed regrets, and gave assurances that the need for local preventative health measures was on their radar.

Rather than any particular political strategy, federal budget restraints and health bureaucracies seemed to be held responsible for the new chronic health focus, sidelining preventative care.

Community buses, community activities, preventative education and care strategies no longer fit within new funding streams, so local communities will need to find other ways to pay for them.

After the meeting, some further comments were directed towards the promises made by PHT and attending politicians.

Meander Valley Council and interested locals will be expecting these to come to fruition, hopefully before the next election year.