Currently, GBH has no orthopaedic medical staff – doctors who treat fractures and strains in bones, muscles and ligaments.

Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate Helen Dalton recently accused mayor John Dal Broi for comments made at the last ordinary council meeting, inferring no doctor would be employed to treat broken bones and fractures at GBH.

Cr Dal Broi hit back and denies stating that “the new Griffith Base Hospital will not employ a single doctor to treat broken bones and fractures”.

“I never made that statement during Council’s ordinary meeting on Tuesday 25 September, as Mrs Dalton claims. That is simply untrue. At no stage did I say that our new hospital wouldn’t have orthopedic services,” Cr Dal Broi said.

“This is able to be listened to on the audio recording on the Council website.”

MLHD’s acting chief executive Maurice Ahern says orthopaedic services have been unavailable in Griffith for a number of years.

He says this is the same for other hospitals in the district. Only Young Hospital provides planned minor elective orthopaedic surgery, with acute patients are referred to Wagga Wagga Base Hospital (WWBH) or Canberra hospitals.

Treatment is assessed on an individual basis in consultation with the orthopaedic service at WWBH, directions are given for the appropriate treatment.

Mr Ahern confirmed they have previously undertaken recruitment processes having advertised the position both locally and overseas, and are now working with St Vincent's to attract orthopaedic surgeons to Griffith. 

“We are now working with St Vincent’s to establish an appropriate orthopaedic service for Griffith,” Mr Ahern said.

“At the moment they come in [to St Vincent's] on fixed periods, but we are trying to establish this service in town, and doing that looking to build and further our relationship with St Vincent's.”

He said recruiting surgeons will be easier once Griffith has a new base hospital, with MLHD looking at creating a fracture clinic in the meantime.

“We are looking, in the new facility, to bring orthopaedic services to the GBH,” Mr Ahern said.

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“In the meantime we will be looking at introducing a fracture clinic in the interim as the redevelopment is in progress.”

Mrs Dalton said having this new hospital is not enough if basic services are not provided.

“If you can’t even get a simple break put into a cast, what’s the point? That’s not a hospital,” Mrs Dalton said.

“The health in the MLHD has systematically been run down for over 30 years under the National Party. Health here is in crisis.

“The MLHD board is in need of a total review.”

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