Nurses at the Forbes Hospital joined the state-wide strike action last Thursday fighting for safe staffing levels across the public health system.

“The need is urgent, staffing is in crisis and the health system is not coping,” said Chloe Scheul, assistant secretary of the Forbes Hospital Branch of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association.

“Every shift, NSW nurses are confronted with short staffing, excessive workloads and are stretched beyond what is reasonable or safe to keep our health system functioning.”

She said the changes they were asking for to staffing ratios were not unreasonable or exorbitant. “We need a guaranteed number of nurses and midwives on every shift, so we can provide safe patient care.

“We will continue to fight for our patients and our community.” said Chloe of the second strike by nurses in as many months as union members claim their demands are being ignored by the government.

The ABC reported there were 4,296 NSW Health staff in isolation on 28th March due to being infected with COVID-19 or exposed to the virus, according to government data.

Residents from Condobolin, Forbes, and Parkes can now share their experiences of primary health care services through a community survey.

The Lachlan Valley Community Primary Health Service Survey asks community members about their experiences when accessing primary health care. Primary health care is the care delivered outside a hospital by a range of health professionals. It includes general practitioners, allied health professionals, primary care and community nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers.

The survey is open to all members of the community 15 years of age and above. It takes around 10 minutes to complete. The initiative is part of the Collaborative Care Program in the Lachlan Valley.

Wellington Digwa is the community contact for the Primary Health Service Survey. He says every community member’s feedback is important.

“Your responses will help local health care providers understand the needs of your community and how these might be addressed,” said Wellington.

“By understanding your experiences, we can develop models of service provision which will meet the needs in our communities.”

The Primary Health Service Survey closes on Friday, 1 April. Community members can access the online survey at https://nswrdn.engagementhub.com.au/lachlan

Paper copies of the survey will be made available to community members who have difficulty accessing the internet. For a paper copy, please contact Wellington at Wellington.Digwa@health.nsw.gov.au or 0438 210 323.

From the beginning of today Friday, 25 February, close to the last of a long line of significant COVID-19 restrictions will be finally lifted when mask wearing will no longer be mandated in most public spaces and venues.

In a real win, especially for local Forbes businesses in the entertainment and hospitality sector, who like many, have felt the brunt of changing regulations, as of now, no longer have the added challenge of policing compliance after the following adjustments have been made to the settings:

• Masks will only be mandated on public transport, planes, and indoors at airports, hospitals, aged and disability care facilities, corrections facilities and indoor music festivals with more than 1,000 people;

• Masks are encouraged for indoor settings where you cannot maintain a safe distance;

• Each State Government agency will review where it may be appropriate for public-facing staff to wear masks and will implement as necessary; and

• The 20,000 person cap on music festivals will be removed, with singing and dancing permitted. Vaccination requirements will remain for indoor music festivals over 1,000 people, with attendees required to have at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

With hospitalisation and ICU rates easing and booster uptake now above 50 per cent, a staged return of non-urgent elective surgery across all NSW public hospitals has commenced and will be increased through February to March.

It has been a tough few years and all Riverina and Central West residents have been affected in some way.

Whether it be our primary producers recovering from the effects of drought, to floods and storms threatening homes and farmland and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all faced significant adversity and, in a show of typical regional Australian community spirit, we have stood tall to be our best selves against these challenges.

Australia can be proud that it is one of the most vaccinated countries when it comes to COVID-19. The fact remains, despite new variants, vaccination remains our best defence against this virus.

We need to continue doing the right things to keep safe our more vulnerable in our community – practising social distancing, wearing masks when appropriate and getting the COVID-19 jab.

Whether you have rolled up your sleeve twice or you have become eligible recently, such as those in the five- to 11-year-old age category, your efforts to continue to protect your community through getting the booster or getting your first jab are to be commended – you are saving lives and protecting livelihoods in your local community. Thank you.

We all want to get back as quickly as we can to the way our lifestyles were before the pandemic – the vaccine is helping us do just that.

You can go to www.health.gov.au to find the nearest available COVID-19 vaccine clinic and to book your vaccination.

Michael McCormack MP
Member For Riverina

From Monday 7th February non-urgent elective surgery requiring an overnight stay will return to 75 per cent capacity in private hospitals, and up to 75 percent of pre pandemic activity levels at public hospitals in regional and rural NSW where they are able to do so.

The temporary suspension of non-urgent elective surgery requiring an overnight stay in both public and private hospitals from 10th January was necessary to ensure there was sufficient staffing and hospital bed capacity in NSW to meet the extra demands caused by the Omicron wave of COVID-19.

Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor said people in regional NSW will be pleased to see a resumption in non-urgent elective surgery as we return to a normal operating environment.

“It’s been a challenging time, but our doctors and nurses and support staff have worked tirelessly in our regional hospitals to support people in need of urgent care,” Mrs Taylor said.

The NSW Government provided an extra $80 million as part of the 2021-22 NSW Budget.

The NSW Government has committed more than $4 billion to the NSW health system since the COVID pandemic began in March 2020.

Residents are being asked to take precautions to protect themselves from mosquitoes in these incredibly wet times the region is experiencing.

“Our team has been spraying our public spaces, including sporting fields, ovals and the lake foreshore, with a targeted insecticide to try and keep numbers at bay,” said Forbes Shire Mayor Phyllis Miller.

“Our flock of sentinel chickens and mosquito traps have detected Ross River Virus (RRV) and we would like to alert the community to do what they can to protect themselves when outside over the coming months,” said Miller.

“The only way to prevent being infected with a disease such as Ross River is to avoid being bitten in the first place. There is no vaccine or special treatment to prevent catching the disease and it affects people in different ways.”

Symptoms can last for weeks to months, and include painful or swollen joints, sore muscles, skin rashes, fever, fatigue and headaches.

“If you are concerned about some of these symptoms we encourage you to visit a local GP and they will conduct a blood test to advise you if you have contracted RRV,” said Mayor Miller.

Prevent mosquito bites with the following precautions:

• Reduce activity outdoors during dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are more likely to bite;

• Cover up with long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing when outdoors;

• Repel by applying an effective personal repellent containing diethyltoluamide (DEET) or picaridin evenly to all areas of exposed skin and always follow the label Instructions;

• Use insecticide sprays, vapour dispensing units (indoors) and mosquito coi (outdoors) to clear rooms or repel mosquitoes from an area;

• Screen all household doors and windows;

• Remove potential breeding grounds around your home. These include any water-holding containers including blocked gutters and rainwater tank overflow pipes, and washout birdbaths and ornamental pools weekly.

For further information go to: www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/pests/vector/Pages/resources.aspx

Australia’s first digital script list has been vital in helping the rural New South Wales community of Forbes continue to provide potentially life-saving medication to dozens of patients cut off by flood waters throughout November and December.

Regional patients and patients with high medication needs have led take-up of the digital script list, called My Script List, with Life Pharmacy consistently one of the highest users nationally.

According to Jack Buckley, lead pharmacist, owner and manager, having a high number of patients registered with the digital script list was invaluable in allowing Life Pharmacy to get medications to patients who were isolated by floods.

“Many of our patients were cut off, using telehealth consults to obtain an electronic script, which we could immediately dispense. We delivered medications to SES workers, who ferried medications across flood waters to patients. Being in a rural area, My Script List has really helped find new ways to prevent disruptions to medication supply.”