The plan was produced by Murrumbidgee Local Health District and recently presented to the community. It proposes that the facility is redeveloped as the current building while still functional, no longer meets modern requirements, including staff and patient safety, aged care management, and emergency areas.
Currently, the Urana MPS is a 23-bed facility with three acute care beds and 19 residential aged care beds.
The 24-hour Accident and Emergency Department is equipped with telehealth cameras to connect the team in Urana with specialists through the Critical Care Advisory Service.
Services also include visiting physiotherapy, podiatry, dental and women’s health. The local GP surgery also has access to a diabetes educator, dietitian and visiting geriatrician.
The facility, built in the 1970’s, was the first multi-purpose health model built in NSW.
Councillor Gail Law said given the age of the facility, an upgrade was necessary as should be fitting for the needs of the community.
“It is important that the smaller villages have these services. The multipurpose centre services a large area around Boree Creek and everywhere else and I think we should fully support this,” she said.
Federation Council mayor Pat Bourke, a member of the Urana Local Health Advisory Committee, also threw his support behind the plan.
“It is exciting for Urana. The doctors have been managing such a great business up there in the black for some time,” he said.
“It’s very efficient and to be able to expand it is something we are really looking forward to. It does service and amazingly big area.”
The plan includes additional acute rooms, need for an increase in aged care accommodation which includes dementia and palliative care which will take pressure off acute care.
It also outlines the need for a separate treatment room in the emergency department and more staff accommodation with a shortage of rentals available in town. The existing staff accommodation consists of three single bedrooms, shared shower/bath and kitchen/dining facilities. The age and lack of privacy is of concern as it will not meet future staff accommodation requirements.
While x-ray imaging has been omitted from the plan, the Urana LHAC hopes this area will be reconsidered to support the local GP and prevent unnecessary transport based on assumptions.
Member for Albury Justin Clancy has thrown his support behind the plan with the future redevelopment now reliant on funding from the NSW government.
