The NSW Government is ensuring the regional communities of Narrabri and Moree have access to quality healthcare including local pathology services.
Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park and Member for Barwon Roy Butler have today announced Narrabri and Moree hospitals will continue to have safe and high-quality pathology services for their communities.
Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) and NSW Health Pathology (NSWHP) will deliver modern, and sustainable pathology services for Moree and Narrabri hospitals and transition local pathology services to a NSW Health provided service.
Following recent community consultation and feedback from staff, HNELHD and NSWHP will implement regional pathology services that include:
- both Moree and Narrabri Hospitals operating on-site laboratories
- pathology staff continuing to work in their local communities, and
- investment in additional enabling point of care testing that supports contemporary pathology practice with faster urgent testing capabilities.
Further consultation with clinical and pathology staff will be undertaken over the coming weeks to ensure staff are supported and the proposed service model is fit for local needs.
HNELHD, NSWHP and the existing private provider SydPath have agreed to a three-month extension of SydPath's contract from 1 July to 30 September 2024 to support a smooth and safe transition.
Quotes attributable to NSW Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park
"The NSW Government is committed to providing better health outcomes for regional communities and ensuring equitable care.
"Regional and rural health is a priority to me as Minister and I would like to assure the community that they will continue to receive high-quality pathology services and thank them for contributing to this process.
"I would like to thank the local Member Roy Butler MP for his advocacy on this important issue and look forward to working with him as consultation continues. Roy has been instrumental in ensuring local pathology services are safe and fit for purpose.
"I am concerned by misinformation that has been shared throughout this consultation process. I won't tolerate people using falsehoods to undermine confidence in our local health services. The community deserves better and this announcement could not be clearer that this is a positive transition."
Quotes attributable to the Member for Barwon Roy Butler
"I want to acknowledge the pivotal role of the Minister and his team in achieving this outcome. From the time I first contacted Ryan, he and his team have been available to discuss this matter.
"The community experienced significant anxiety and distress around their Pathology services as misinformation allowed negative rumours to fester. Ryan and I are disappointed that the community was subjected to unnecessary distress.
"I want to thank the community for the way so many people logically stated their concerns verbally, or in writing. I'm pleased specific concerns the community raised are being considered including needing fresh frozen plasma for transfusions, urgent testing and treatment, managing snakebites, and assessing abdominal pain with lipase tests and liver function tests.
"Your views helped inform the positive outcome we have today."
Quotes attributable to Hunter New England Local Health District Acting Chief Executive, Susan Heyman
"Transitioning to NSW Health Pathology allows us to benefit from their statewide network of services and technologies, including point of care testing, enhancing our capacity to deliver high-quality and sustainable care to the people of Moree and Narrabri.
"We along with NSW Health Pathology will continue to ensure these communities have equal access to quality care and timely pathology services."
Quotes attributable to NSWHP Chief Executive Vanessa Janissen
"We will continue to consult the communities of Narrabri and Moree, as well as local clinicians, to determine the best way forward for the delivery of local pathology services."
"Moving forward, we will continue to keep staff, other healthcare providers, and community leaders informed throughout this process."
"NSW Health Pathology's integrated statewide clinical network means we are uniquely positioned to ensure regional and rural communities have access to safe, reliable pathology services, while broadening access to highly specialised tests, such as anatomical pathology and genomics, provided at our larger referral laboratories."
"NSW Health Pathology operates the largest point of care testing network in Australia, providing urgent onsite testing at the clinicians fingertips and helping to ensure the right test, at the right time for every patient regardless of where they live."
