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.”

A new program is being trialled in Condobolin, Forbes, and Parkes, to address local needs in primary health care. The Collaborative Care Program is a community-led planning approach to improve access to primary health care services. Primary health care includes general practice, primary care nurses, pharmacy, and allied health.

Collaborative Care is a joint initiative between Western NSW Local Health District, Western NSW Primary Health Network, NSW Rural Doctors Network, and many local stakeholders.

Wellington Digwa is the community contact for the Lachlan Valley project. He works with Western NSW Local Health District.

“I believe that people from the community are experts in their community. They have a better understanding of the challenges that their community face and they have lived experience of what works and doesn’t work,” he said.

As part community consultation, a virtual workshop is planned with community representatives from Forbes in the coming weeks.“I am planning face to face visits to the region to speak to more people who did not attend the workshops,” said Wellington.

“We want to consult with General Practitioners, practice managers, non-medical clinicians, allied health practitioners, local councils, and community representatives.”

The aim is to identify opportunities for service providers to strengthen services and to improve community health outcomes.“The partner organisations involved in the Collaborative Care Program are exploring better ways to deliver primary health care in the Lachlan Valley,” said Wellington.

“We need to engage communities to understand from their perspective the gaps and challenges in primary health care and how these can be addressed.”

The Collaborative Care Program received funding through the Australian Government and is expected to run until mid-2022.

The NSW Government is trialling Rapid Antigen Home Testing (RAHT) kits to reduce disruption at schools and halve the time close contacts need to isolate.

Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell said a pilot program of the test kits would begin from this week.

“I want to see disruption to our students’ education from COVID reduced, while still keeping schools safe places to learn. This requires us to deploy every tool available to balance the risk,” Ms Mitchell said.

“We will be trialling the tests in two ways: a broad surveillance approach, along with close contact testing to reduce initial positive cases on school sites and reduce the amount of time close contact students need to spend away from school.”

The surveillance method will see the kits distributed by schools for use at home by staff and students who are asked to do a test twice a week as part of community surveillance.

“People with a positive result would need to follow up with a regular (PCR) test at a NSW Health testing centre and those who test negative will go on with their normal day-to-day routines assured that they are not infected or at risk of spreading the virus,” Ms Mitchell said.

Unvaccinated students who are close contacts of a positive case will also be able to reduce their isolation time by using the kits on a daily basis.

“NSW Health has advised us that close contacts of COVID positive cases will have their isolation period halved to seven days provided they receive a consistent negative result,” Ms Mitchell said.

COVID-19 vaccination rates for Aboriginal people in Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) are among the highest in NSW and continuing to climb, according to the latest data from the Australian Immunisation Register.

Among those who identify as Aboriginal in WNSWLHD, data until the end of October shows this demographic ahead by the state average by at least 10 per cent in single and double doses for adults and children 12-15yrs – a remarkable effort after what the region has endured.

Brendon Cutmore, WNSWLHD Executive Director of Aboriginal Health and Well-being, said he is very proud of how communities have responded to the need to get vaccinated, particularly after the latest Delta outbreak.

“Around 11 per cent of our District’s population identify as Aboriginal, yet we made up more than 60 per cent of the COVID-19 cases in this outbreak and sadly around half of the deaths recorded,” Mr Cutmore said.

“With the help of our Aboriginal Health Workers, community leaders and partners such as local Aboriginal Medical Services and Land Councils, our region has managed to bring the Delta outbreak under control and reach even some of our most remote communities with vaccine.”

Western NSW Local Health District are returning with the Australian Defence Force to deliver second doses of Pfizer and will be standing up clinic in Forbes tomorrow Saturday 30th October by invitation only. People who received their first vaccine doses at our previous Forbes ADF walk-in clinics will be contacted by Western NSW Local Health District by either text or telephone to confirm their second dose, as well as date, time and location of clinic.

The NSW Government is investing $21 million to expand the Aboriginal mental health and suicide prevention workforce as part of $131 million mental health recovery package. Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Don Harwin said the four-year investment will allow for the recruitment of 18 FTE Aboriginal Care Navigators and 18 FTE Aboriginal Peer Workers across NSW.