IN THE PINK

"In the Pink or in the Red" was the somewhat facetious title given to the Joint Standing Committee's report into Health Services on Norfolk Island in recent years.
Most would agree that Health and Education are priority areas of spending for any government nowadays, and any attempt to reduce spending or services in either of these areas would bring about a strong community reaction.
Our own Norfolk Island Assembly, faced with the task of reducing spending and costs in the Public Service, has to deal with the reality that the lion's share of these costs is in these two areas of Health and Education.
Despite rumblings from Canberra's representatives and officials about Norfolk Island's hospital being sub-standard, third world, and in need of bulldozing, I have rarely heard any strong complaints about the level of service and care there.
I have certainly never heard anything like the anger, frustration and concern expressed by people interviewed in last Monday's Four Corners program about rural health services in N.S.W.
Allowing for some journalistic licence and editing in the interests of creating a good story, some of the issues raised in the program are quite frightening.
Take Cobar, a country town of 7000 people, almost quadruple Norfolk Island's population. They have one doctor, and their maternity unit has closed down. Expectant mothers need to plan to go and stay with relatives (or a hotel) in a large centre weeks before their baby is due. In the event of premature labour, an air ambulance may be called, but if labour is reasonably advanced, there is a 4 hour road ambulance journey to Dubbo or Bourke, with a change of ambulance along the way.
The program also dealt with the issue of cancer sufferers, who are 35% more likely to die if they live in the bush, because of lack of access to proper treatments. There are also problems with old buildings, outdated or unserviceable equipment, staffing shortages, waiting lists, and enormous difficulties in attracting doctors.
If you missed it, you can access a transcript to the program on
http://abc.net.au/4corners

Draw your own conclusions!