Griffith business chamber president and committee member Paul Pierotti said “they understand the case we’ve made – we need a new hospital. But when is it happening? Show us the timeline. Show us the money in the budget”.

The committee urges residents to show government this message by attending a peaceful protest at Griffith Exies on Thursday morning at 8.45am – just before the NSW premier and her Cabinet arrive there for a morning tea as part of their community Cabinet in Griffith.

The committee said this time Griffith should not accept a vague promise of future funds for one stage of hospital upgrades – as happened on the Premier’s previous visit – but push for full budget allocation and a timeline on how and when a new hospital will be built. 

“Western Riverina health is in crisis. It’s not just impacting on Griffith, but all the surrounding areas. We must keep the pressure on,” committee member Robert Fattore said. 

The committee have also asked residents to sign the petition “New hospital for Griffith now or we change our vote”, which has already garnered more than 1000 signatures.

The petition can be found at businesses across Banna Avenue, such as Elders Real Estate and at Griffin Plaza.

NSW Health bureaucrats have countered the protest movement with a “truth” campaign to highlights what they see as “improvements” to the hospital over the past five years.  

Committee member Brendan Catanzariti said he is not convinced by the “truth” campaign, nor the NSW government’s promise of a $35 million upgrade.

“The $35 million is too little, too late. It’s a shoe-string budget.”

He said building a new hospital is a matter of life and death.

“If it wasn’t for the skill and dedication of Jaya (Dr Narayanan Jayachandran) and his team, we would’ve lost a lot of lives”.

Young mum Melissa Barton says she is part of the fight for a new hospital because she fears for the future of her 18-month old baby Sam. 

“A town without a hospital is a town that slowly dies,” she said.  

“I can’t imagine having to drive Sam two hours to Wagga in an emergency,” she said. 

Bill Calabria, of Calabria Family Wines, said he joined the committee because he was sick of seeing Griffith treated “like a third-world country”.

“My whole family is from this area. When I was a child, all the health services were here. It was rare that anyone had to go to Sydney for treatment”.

“We are supposed to be a city. Why do we keep moving backwards? One surgeon for 80,000 people is just disgusting.”

“The hospital is like like a mother to our community. When you’re in trouble, you run to the hospital… we need a new hospital now”.

Mr Catanzariti said it’s essential for everyone in the community to get involved, including the young. 

It was noted that few people aged between 18 and 30 attended the Save Griffith Base Hospital rally on Saturday, but young mum Amber Williams said this group may have the most to lose from declining health services. 

“If you’re planning to stay in Griffith, you need to ensure there is a good hospital for your children, and their children. We need to fight for future generations”.