NORMANTON and Karumba area residents will be able to have their say on health-related matters with the establishment of a new community representative committee.
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The new Carpentaria Health Committee held its inaugural meeting in Normanton on August 5.
North West Hospital and Health Service Board Chair Paul Woodhouse said he welcomed the formation of the new community committee.
“This is the third such formal health committee established in the North West, following similar committees on Mornington Island and in the McKinlay Shire,’’ Mr Woodhouse said.
“Such committees are an excellent way through which local residents can put forward their views and provide valuable feedback on health matters to us and to other health providers in their areas.
“The Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 requires hospital and health services to engage with consumers and community members to identify and meet their health service needs.
“But even without the legislative requirement, it just makes absolute common sense for service providers like the North West HHS to work with and engage with local communities.
“As part of that process, we are working closely with a number of other North West communities to help establish similar committees in their areas.
“These committees will then be able to liaise with us and other health providers such as the Medicare Local, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Indigenous health organisations, and so on.
“The North West HHS is keen to hear from all local communities about their current and future health needs and I am sure the same applies to other health service providers.
“Where such community representative committees are established, the North West HHS is happy to assist them wherever we can.’’
Carpentaria Health Committee Chair Adrienne Whelan said the formation of the new committee was a positive step forward for the whole community.
“As local residents, we are best placed to identify what we believe are service gaps in our communities and to feed that information up to the various health providers and work with them to identify the best ways to bridge those gaps,’’ Ms Whelan said.
“Our purpose as a committee is to educate, contribute and communicate on community health planning and delivery for our residents.
“In the coming months, we will be putting forward our views and feedback to all our health service providers and working with them to ensure the current and future health needs of our communities are met as appropriately as possible.
“I encourage the Normanton and Karumba communities to work with us so we can work effectively for them.’’
Carpentaria Shire Mayor Fred Pascoe said the council recognised the importance of working in partnership with local and regional stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcomes for the community in the delivery of all services.
“Council is pleased to actively support and be involved in the Carpentaria Health Committee,’’ Cr Pascoe said.
“We need to focus on finding the solutions and outcomes that best meet our community’s health and well-being needs.
“The Carpentaria Health Committee is a very positive step in the right direction to achieve this goal.”
“Council acknowledges and greatly appreciates the support of the North West HHS Board, North West HHS health services and the community agencies and personnel who are strongly committed to making the newly formed Carpentaria Health Committee a success.’’
