I would like to voice my concerns regarding the renal unit to be staffed by renal nurses with visiting renal specialists that I and many others understood would be located in Young.

It seems, for political reasons, that this unit has now been deemed more suitable in Cowra.

Everybody knows all the hard work, fundraising and goodwill the Young community has put into the self-managed dialysis unit in Young. 

An amount of well over $200,000 was raised by a very hardworking group of individuals to get a self-managed renal unit established in Young. 

We were advised this was the first necessary step before moving towards the establishment of a renal unit with renal nurses and visiting specialists. 

Young was then acknowledged as a high medical priority in Murrumbidgee Health after a medical needs analysis was completed. 

And then they take it away from Young and the poor suffering souls that travel for their treatment three times per week for the rest of their lives are no longer deemed important.

Surely Jillian Skinner and Katrina Hodgkinson could have shown mercy on the people who have to travel three times a week to Canberra for their dialysis.  

A renal unit in Young with renal nurses would be used, as I understand, by at least 14 people three times per week. 

Some of these people are currently self managing which can not be done indefinitely. 

Some have had kidney transplants and these people will, more often than not, end up back on dialysis.

After all the work the community has done attending meetings and being of the understanding that the renal unit with nurses and visiting specialists would be situated in Young we get this political backflip and are shunned. 

The decision not to go ahead with a staffed renal unit in Young is very disappointing. 

This bad political decision is like a slap in the face to the people of Young.

I would say to the minister and the local MPs involved, if this regional renal unit with nursing staff and visiting specialists is not forthcoming to Young within the next year, then I would strongly advocate the people of Young need to re-evaluate who they elect as our local member of parliament.  

If this problem is not rectified and an independent was to stand on this issue  alone, I believe we would see a change in our local representation.

To think that there are 80 managed dialysis units in Victoria and only 60 in NSW which has a much higher population and a much larger area is ridiculous.  

Also that the people on dialysis from Young need to travel four hours three times per week is ludicrous.  

At times people particularly the aged have found the travel too much and simply given up. 

The family sacrifice at present is too much and this can be easily rectified by some common sense decision from our MPs. 

Cr Brian Mullany

Young Shire Council