Members from the Leeton Health Services Crisis Committee (LHSCC) and representatives from Leeton Shire Council took part in a guided facility tour of Leeton Health Service (formally known as Leeton District Hospital) by key personnel of the Murrumbidgee Local Health District.

The purpose was to gain an understanding of what services currently operate from the site and to identify what spaces might be available to consider new and other opportunities for inclusion in the MLHD's Clinical Services Plan and the Leeton Integrated Health Services Strategy Plan that will be developed later this year.

Consultation is underway for both.

The group visited Carramar, including the outdoor areas and heard of plans for the ground floor with new entry, reception area and access ramp. They also visited the general wards, maternity ward and the temporary emergency department while upgrades take place downstairs.

Council's mayor Tony Reneker said it was heartening to see the actively used parts of the facility were in good condition.

"The new emergency department is going to be a tremendous improvement once it opens," he said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The group had also hoped to view the unused or less-used parts of the hospital such as the third floor and the nurses quarters to identify opportunities for alternative uses of the space and advocate for potential upgrades.

However, the third floor of the hospital has been decommissioned and the group was not permitted to enter the top floor for WHS reasons.

They were also not able to visit the nurses quarters where only about one third of the rooms are occupied.

Council General Manager Jackie Kruger said while the group was grateful for the tour, the group was disappointed to only be shown the areas that are operating and hopes to go back in the coming months to properly view the rest, as per the original viewing request to the MLHD.

"The MLHD is in the throes of preparing a Clinical Services Plan for Leeton and is seeking public input into what we think is needed to ensure we have appropriate health services into the future," she said.

"While we can make general statements about what we think needs to be upgraded, it would be better to have seen everything we asked to see."

To the rear of the site, it was also explained the Community Health Building operates under a different NSW Health department.

Cr Reneker said it was good to get a deeper understanding of the assets and discuss future opportunities.

"Many Leeton shire residents remember this facility with a busy in and outpatient ward, large maternity turnover, a training program for registered nurses plus many other health services," he said.

"Moving forward, we will be advocating to see several of these services reinstated within a fully utilised facility and modern staff accommodation, to name a few. We know what Leeton District Hospital once was. We now need to look forward to the future and will be push for a contemporary facility that works for our community."

To implement these opportunities, LHSCC and LSC are working together with the MLHD on finding out what the Leeton community needs, understanding missing gaps and find achievable solutions to providing these services to the Leeton community.

"Communities change and evolve and now is the perfect time to get an understanding of what the community wants and needs from their health services and create tailored solutions," said LHSCC chairman Maryann Iannelli.

Time is running out for the community to have their say via Leeton health services survey at https://bit.ly/3nknL79.

Workshops will also be held next week for residents to air their thoughts and opinions on the state of health services in the shire.

Dates and how to register can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/leetoncommunity.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: