THe " Emergency Department " illusion !

For reasons that few people understand the controllers of our health services seem Hell bent on restricting Wollongong and the Illawarra to a single emergency department - located at Wollongong hospital.

In the past we had an excellent array of emergency departments - one at Port Kembla hospital to the south of the city - One at Bulli hospital to the north - and the biggest and best equipped centrally located at the Crown street site.

Despite strong union opposition and after a long fight the authorities managed to close Port Kembla. The fact that this area's biggest industry - the accident prone steelworks - was nearby was not considered a factor.

Now moves are underway to sabotage Bulli hospital. In recent times the emergency department has been closed - for lack of a doctor. It seems that the designated emergency department doctor has been rostered to another hospital - and staff have therefore assessed those people presenting - and turned them away !

That does not mean that Bulli hospital doesn't have doctors on site. It is a functional hospital with patients. It simply means that management declines to have one of those doctors treat emergency patients.

It's the oldest ruse in the book. Artificially decrease the flow of patients and then claim that the service is not necessary because it is little used - the usual precursor to closing it down !

At the same time as this charade is being enacted, Wollongong hospital's emergency department is suffering gross overload. Ambulances are banking up and patients are being housed in corridors on stretchers.

Common sense should prevail. If there were emergency departments functioning at Bulli and Port Kembla hospitals experienced ambulance staff would be able to decide whether a patient needed the superior facilities at Wollongong hospital - or whether a minor broken bone, deep cut or other injury could be treated at either of the regional emergency departments.

Despite denials by the health authorities the skids are being put under Bulli hospital's emergency department. We lost the battle to save Port Kembla. Now is the time for the citizens of this city to make it crystal clear to this area's Labor parliamentary members that if Bulli closes they will be out of a job at the next election.

Enough is enough ! The situation at Wollongong hospital's emergency department is at times life threatening. The loss of Bulli would only exacerbate that to third world status. We deserve better than that !