Meander Valley Council will move to hold public meetings for Primary Health Tasmania and other stakeholders to work with the community to “secure the reinstatement of preventative health services.”
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A motion was passed unanimously at the council meeting on Tuesday to seek support from the Local Government Association of Tasmania regarding lost health services in the community. The move to hold public meetings was an addition to the notice of motion. The council has been vocal since it lost the services of three Westbury Community Health Centre workers when a new federal rural health program began.
“I believe the federal Health Department is out of touch with regional Australia … in terms of health programs and we need to find a way to make them change their mind,” Councillor Bob Richardson said. LGAT will consider the motion at its general meeting in February. Diabetes Tasmania will service Meander Valley under the new program.
A PHT spokeswoman said they “did not receive any tenders that involved funding a youth worker, mental health worker or social worker to address chronic health conditions in the Meander Valley municipality”.
“PHT is happy to meet with representatives of the Meander Valley Council to answer any questions it may have about the tender process and its outcomes,” she said.
“However, we cannot commission preventive health services under the new rural primary health funding program – except where they relate to people with or at risk of chronic conditions.”
