It’s only been a week since Young formed a medical centre working party and already they’ve been approached with proposals from interested parties.
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Last Thursday up to 20 community members attended a special meeting in the Young Shire Council Chambers with the sole purpose of forming the working party with the objective of building a new multipurpose medical centre in town.
This followed an initial gathering of the entire medical fraternity in Young who, with councillors and council staff, met to discuss the lack of GPs in the area.
Mayor Stuart Freudenstein, who was present at both meetings, said the first meeting came about after an announcement that several doctors plan to retire within a year or more with no new or younger doctors to replace them.
Cr Freudenstein said local GPs have been desperately trying to recruit new doctors to no avail.
That and the fact two of Young’s current centres are operating at full capacity have contributed to the decision to look into the potential for a new medical centre.
Cr Freudenstein said he had spoken with Nationals Senator Fiona Nash - also the Assistant Minister for Health - and they will be looking into what grants could assist with medical centre infrastructure.
He also said he spoke with Member for Burrinjuck Katrina Hodgkinson and Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor’s office in relation to the issue.
Last Thursday’s gathering was geared to appoint the working party, which now consists of eight members.
They are Mr Freudenstein, deputy mayor Ben Cooper, Young Shire Council’s general manager Peter Vlatko and planning, strategic and environment services director Craig Filmer.
Doctors Tom Douch and Bill Maher, Young and District Medical Centre manager David Kay and pathologist Peter Kirkwood are also part of the working party.
At this meeting, Dr Douch also presented a history of what has led to the current crisis they face.
“Our mission is to explore all models and find the ones that run the best and sort through them, and work out what is best for Young,” Cr Freudenstein said.
In more simple terms, to investigate a new medical centre.
The party has already had at least two proposals put forward, one rumour being Southern Cross Care offering land as a potential site.
“All three MPs will be a big part of it as well in terms of grant applications and funding,” Cr Freudenstein said.
“We want to be as ready as we can be if something like that comes along.”
