DEVONPORT Mayor Steve Martin is continuing to push for changes to be made to the proposed future plan for the Mersey Community Hospital.

The Mersey hospital, at Latrobe, will soon become Tasmania’s dedicated elective surgery centre, as part of the state government’s One Health System Reform.

Through the changes, the hospital will lose its birthing facilities, and the emergency department and high dependency unit will be different.

Latrobe acting mayor Rick Rockliff and Health Minister Michael Ferguson believe the changes are positive and will mean more people will benefit from the hospital.

However, Alderman Martin said on Friday that it was not good enough for the Mersey to be losing resources when the Tasmanian Health Organisation North West Annual Report 2013-14 showed that 42 per cent more people from the Mersey catchment presented to an emergency department, compared to the Western end of the region.

Alderman Martin, the Mersey Community Hospital Support Group chairman, said the report also showed that the Mersey catchment had a 35 per cent bigger population than the west

‘‘So why are we lowering the level of services in the emergency department?’’ Alderman Martin said.

‘‘Where you have the bulk of the people, you shouldn’t be reducing life-saving services.

‘‘We don’t expect a hospital to be on every corner, we don’t expect all the services to be available at the Mersey, but what we do expect is when somebody comes to this front door, who has a heart attack or an asthma attack, they can be treated and stabilised with the correct level of expertise.’’

Alderman Martin said he had concerns about  three main areas: birthing, emergency services and the high dependency unit.

BIRTHING:

BABIES will no longer be born at the Mersey Community Hospital once proposed changes come into effect.

Expecting mothers will instead have to travel to the Launceston General Hospital or the North West Regional Hospital.

Alderman Martin said the hospital needed at least a level two maternity service at a minimum.

The white paper states the Mersey currently provides maternity services at level four.

‘‘What we’re saying is if you’re a mum and you present yourself at the Mersey and you have complications and you’re giving birth, we need to have somebody here that is able to give birth in that instance,’’ he said.

‘‘We need to cater for that because we have 35 per cent more population here in the Mersey catchment area compared to the west, so that means 35 per cent more mums.’’

Health Minister Michael Ferguson said the idea of consolidating birth services was about providing safer and quality services to mums.

‘‘We need to take mothers and baby to the best place in the first instance,’’ he said.

Mr Ferguson said the overall maternity model at the Mersey was small by contemporary standards and there was no paediatric cover at the hospital.

‘‘The clinical advice cannot be clearer – it is dangerous for any hospital to deliver services where it is not properly equipped to deal with life-threatening complications which can occur,’’ he said.

There are currently about 400 births a year at the Mersey and 800 at the North West Region Hospital.

Mr Ferguson said changes to birthing on the North-West was a priority and would be made within the next year.

He said expecting mums would still be supported in their home area for prenatal and postnatal care.

Latrobe acting mayor Rick Rockliff said it was better for mums and babies to be in a bigger hospital with more resources.

EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT, BED BLOCKS AND AMBULANCE RAMPING:

MR FERGUSON has hit back at claims there will not be enough beds for people being transferred from the Mersey, saying if we need more, the government can make more.

The white paper revealed the Mersey would retain its level three emergency medicine service and  patients with serious conditions would be picked up by ambulance and transported to the NWRH or the LGH – the exception would be patients with acute chest pain, who would be stabilised prior to transfer.

The Mersey’s high dependency unit will also change to a short stay unit.

Alderman Martin is worried the changes may mean patients will have to be transferred when currently they did not need to.

He said he wanted to see the hospital retain its HDU and the highest standard possible for a 24/7 emergency department.

He said there was also concerns there would not be enough beds for transferred patients at the LGH or the NWRH.

Mr Ferguson said many hospital beds were currently being occupied when they shouldn’t be.

‘‘There are 100 people right now in our hospital beds who are probably better looked after in residential aged care,’’ Mr Ferguson said.

‘‘We need to better move them rather than have them in a $1200 bed.’’

Alderman Martin questioned if the government was going to put more beds at the LGH, why couldn’t they just put more at the Mersey?

‘‘The Minister is putting in $24 million into patient transport – that’s 24 beds,’’ Alderman Martin said.

‘‘Why don’t they put 24 beds here and not transfer patients?

‘‘Currently it costs $3.6 million for patient transfer out of the Mersey. That is 3.6 beds.’’

THE FUTURE OF THE MERSEY:

MR FERGUSON believes making the hospital a dedicated elective surgery centre will be a significant positive for the future of the hospital.

Changes have already started to be implemented, with three additional endoscopy sessions per month being added to the Mersey from Monday.

The new $148.5 million federal funding deal, officially announced last Monday, is only for two years, but Mr Ferguson is confident going forward.

‘‘I’m trying to help this hospital survive,’’ he said.

Mr Ferguson said the state government’s position was that the hospital should continue to be funded by the federal government.

‘‘The good thing is the Commonwealth and the Tasmanian government are partners in health reform,’’ he said.

‘‘I’m grateful for the Commonwealth for playing a positive role in health reform.’’

Cr Rockliff agreed with Mr Ferguson, saying the changes would create more opportunities for the hospital.

‘‘People will still be employed there and the hospital is going to be busier than ever,’’ Cr Rockcliff said.

He said because more people would be travelling to the hospital, it would help stimulate local cafes and accommodation facilities.

‘‘It’s been an ongoing issue for such a long time, it’s time we move on and put it behind us,’’ Cr Rockcliff said.

‘‘We have to rationalise the services...this should have happened sooner.’’