THERE is a new face on the government committee charged with overseeing health matters in Millicent.
Local resident Graeme Richardson was elected to the Millicent Health Advisory Council at its annual general meeting earlier this month at Millicent and District Hospital.
The three-year terms of Jeniene Davis and Brenton Dohnt finished at the meeting and they were re-elected unopposed.
There were six vacancies to fill in the community member category while the medical representative position has never been filled in the decade-long existence of the Millicent HAC.
Lasting 27 minutes, the yearly forum was chaired by Millicent HAC presiding member Jen Syme.
She highlighted new blinds costing $20,000 had been purchased along with a new theatre bed and scales for bariatric patients.
“We are looking at providing a hairdressing service in the Sheoak Lodge aged care facility, a volunteer gardening group is under consideration and a display case with a mannequin wearing a historic nurse uniform is now in the foyer of the hospital,” she said.
Ms Syme emphasised the health planning aspect of the HAC in her brief report, as did acting South East health services director Ngaire Buchanan.
“The strategic plan at Millicent is the first to be developed (in this region),” Ms Buchanan said.
“It will look at the sustainability of clinical services.
“We want to be able to provide surgical services as close to home as possible.”
In response to questions posted from the floor by The South Eastern Times, Millicent Hospital executive officer and director of nursing Michelle DeWit said the total full-time and part-time staff numbers at the facility were stable at about 150.
Ms DeWit said the acute wing had an average occupancy rate of 10.2 while the average bed stay length was 3.2 days.
She said there was a monthly average of 90-day surgery procedures.
In response to a question from The South Eastern Times, Ms Syme said the new locum doctors were providing a good service and there had been no gaps since International Medical Recruitment started a new seven-year contract in early September.
Wattle Range Council HAC representative Dr Kevin McGrath pointed to a recent study which detailed the high rate of disease in the region.
A quorum of 15 is needed when the annual general meeting of the Millicent HAC is held.
As only a handful of community members were present, the quorum was achieved by the presence of several Millicent Hospital nursing, administration and support staff.
Some of the staff members were only present for a few minutes.
A similar set of farcical circumstances have applied in recent years at other annual general meetings of the Millicent HAC and its predecessor, the Millicent and District Hospital Board of Management.
No financial statements or statistics were presented at the meeting as they have to be first tabled in State Parliament by Health Minister Stephen Wade.
At the end of the annual general meeting, the Millicent HAC then reconvened in another room and held its scheduled October meeting.
