This initiative can only bring our community together. 

Offering an outlet for the people of the Valley to browse and shop locally for that unique gift rather than imported items our bigger retailers sell. 

Volunteering for the Tourist Information centre, I personally have had several comments made by our visiting tourists about the quantity of empty shops here in Bega. 

To them - our tourists - it does not look good. 

Well at least now we have one less empty space thanks to Ms Hutchinson. 

Having visited the store myself, there seems to be space available for more of our artisans and craftspeople to show off their talents and support this fantastic idea. 

A big thank you to those who have already supported this concept and to Ms Hutchinson a job well done in bringing this to fruition. 

The store/outlet looks great.

Pamela Burgess

Reedy Swamp

Well it is interesting that our Treasurer Andrew Constance, who is our elected representative of the NSW Government, did not have the time or the inclination to respond to the letters his constituents sent. 

This letter addressed to Andrew Constance asked him to consider his voters' concerns and look at extending the current nurse-to-patient ratio in metropolitan regions of 1-4, to not only the Bega Valley hospitals, but all NSW hospitals. 

Our letter simply stated the evidence indicates when ratios were introduced three years ago in Sydney hospitals, improved patient safety, patient health outcomes and fiscal results occurred. 

Well I recently received a response to my letter; however it was not from our representative but from the NSW Minister of Health Jillian Skinner. 

In the minister’s response she began by saying "as the matters you have raised fall within my portfolio your correspondence was forwarded for my consideration".

I did not ask for her remarks I wanted to find out what our elected member thought of this request.

We wanted him to listen to the people who voted him in and answer our request.

However, I guess any letter is better than no letter - or so I thought. 

Minster Skinner went on to say "patient needs determine nursing staff levels. The kind of facility, not its geographic locations determined which kinds of patient it will care for.

“Patients in large complex facilities require high levels of intense specialised care.

“Patents in smaller less complex facilities do not generally require the same high level of specialised treatment. 

“It does not mean a patient having a knee replacement in a smaller hospital is allocated less nursing care in a small hospital. 

“A patient having a knee replacement is given the care they need wherever they may be.”

Yes Minister Skinner, they are given the care "they need", but at what cost. 

Why should knee replacement patients in Sydney hospitals have 1-4 nurses working on any given shift and at Bega and Pambula it is 1-5. 

This is because it is worked on how many patients are in a bed at a midnight census, which does not accurately reflect the needs of patients. 

Yet NSW Health continues to say the current system of nursing hours per patient day is flexible, it is funded on "the average number of nursing hours that should be provided in a ward over the week".

However, it is a difficult and outdated system that needs to change and move with the times.

It is inflexible, injuries and sickness are not predictable and often bed numbers increase during a shift, or patient's condition changes making it impossible to find extra staff when needed. 

Secondly, rural hospitals have limited casual pools and have difficulty finding extra staff on short notice so we work short or staff do doubles shift, neither are what one would say is best practice.

Patients will always receive the basic care, but not the best possible care. 

Bega Hospital completed 218 knees and hip joint replacements in 2010-11.

Regardless of their geographical location, do those patients not deserve the best possible care, the same care that 218 orthopaedic patients will receive in a metropolitan hospital?

Mr Constance we are asking again for you to consider reviewing and extending ratios in your local hospitals. 

Are we just a lot tougher in the country and only have simple easy procedures? 

Or is it that our city counterparts do not have any small procedures because the large facilities are only for complex specialised treatment?

Every patient in every community deserves the right to safe care through mandatory ratios. 

I hope we can have these in place by the time the new Bega Regional Hospital opens its doors.

Diane Lang

Merimbula