Camden councillor Cindy Cagney calls for clarity on future of Camden Hospital Palliative Care Unit
Weeks after rumours first started swirling about the future of Camden’s palliative care unit, there is still no answer from health authorities as to if the service will remain open. But one councillor is determined for answers.
Macarthur
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A Camden councillor is calling for clarity on whether an “essential service” will remain open after weeks of rumours with no clear answer from health authorities.
Cindy Cagney will put forward a motion at this week’s meeting calling for council to urgently write to the South Western Sydney Local Health District CEO Amanda Larkin and other top staff to seek clarification as to whether the Camden Hospital palliative care unit is going to remain open for the next five years.
Concerns were first aired in mid-August after social media posts raised fears it would shut and moved to Campbelltown Hospital.
In council papers, Ms Cagney wrote there had been speculation for several weeks the unit would be closed by early 2024 and all palliative care services would be situated at Campbelltown Hospital.
“From its humble beginnings in the enclosed veranda of the original hospital to the current patient needs centred, purpose-built state of the art unit, it has served our community well and should be maintained,” she wrote in council papers.
“Camden Rotary, along with many generous donors of both time (volunteer labour and finances), have established gardens and other amenities, which add to its sense of peacefulness.
“Many of us have been able to entrust our family members and friends into the hands of the amazingly professional and experienced staff, who have always gone above and beyond in their clinical care and empathy for those who are in the last stages of their life journey.
“Their holistic approach to end-of-life care has supported families and carers as well as patients. Our population continues to grow, and it is imperative that this unit remains open.”
According to the LHD’s website, the unit at Camden Hospital has ten beds and is led by staff specialist, a nurse unit manager and other staff with a dedicated allied health team and volunteers.
The unit caters for residents from the Macarthur, Wollondilly, and Wingecarribee areas.
When this publication reached out last month, the South West Sydney Local Health District would only say “no decision has been made” and enhancements in Macarthur are being considered.
They were contacted for comment again on Tuesday but did not respond by time of publication.
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