FROM today, Calvary Public Hospital Bruce will be known at North Canberra Hospital, following the ACT government’s controversial take over of the privately owned hospital.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said: “Creating a single network will means we can better co-ordinate health and hospital services, with resources and hospital load distributed more effectively.
“This change will enable the government to strengthen the capacity of our workforce, plan infrastructure on a territory-wide basis and improve health outcomes for all Canberrans.
“There will be more opportunities for our acute hospitals to work together, without having to manage a complex contractual relationship, to deliver improved models of care and services.
“While today is an important milestone, there is still much work to be done to complete the transition and I thank everyone involved for their ongoing commitment to that work.”
The government says 1781 staff, including the entire executive team, have transitioned their employment to Canberra Health Services.
“I know this has been a very emotional time for the workforce and some may be feeling anxious and overwhelmed over the coming weeks. Canberra Health Services will make every effort to ensure staff have the information and support they need to continue doing their valued work,” the minister said.
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![Teacher Vanessa Jones has been living in Higgins since 2001, and while she loves the area, she says she is “fed up” with the neglectful ACT government.
The Higgins shops have been completely abandoned, says Vanessa, preventing the opportunity for residents to have a community-centred space to socialise.
They only received bins nine months ago, she says, and requests for a water station and repairs to the bus station have gone unanswered.
“It’s very, very slow,” says Vanessa.
“I asked for the zebra crossing on Fullagar [Crescent] to be repainted, and we had to wait about six or nine months.
“That’s just such a long time… we pay a lot of rates.”
Vanessa says assistance from the government only seems to go to communities with time-rich and assertive communities, leaving places such as Higgins, where the majority of households have both adults working full-time and English may not be the first language of the family, at an automatic disadvantage.
“If you’ve got two people working, paying a mortgage, raising two or three kids, they don’t have the time,” says Vanessa.
Vanessa says the lack of attention quieter places such as Higgins is receiving is starting to look a lot like favouritism.
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