Fury has risen in Clunes following revelations the township will lose its local nurse.
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Hepburn Health has been quick to quash rumours the township would also lose its medical centre, emergency resuscitation equipment and lifesaving drugs, along with other suggestions it had made the nurse’s position redundant.
CEO Glenn Campbell said instead, the local nurse had retired and would not be replaced.
Instead, Clunes residents could book in for a district nurse to visit their homes, or make a GP appointment at the Clunes Community Health Centre, which would not close down.
The township arranged a rally on Friday, with about 20 turning up to voice their opposition to the change.
Clunes resident John Sayers said the community was upset to hear the township would lose its nurse, particularly since the longstanding employee had helped many residents with wound dressings.
“You can imagine there’s a number of elderly people who need that service. That service and the procedures are handed back to the doctors, and they’re already overworked,” Mr Sayers said.
He said with a 2000-strong growing population, services in Clunes should not be reduced in any way, but actually improved.
Mr Campbell said the nurse’s retirement had been announced three months ago, and she would be “replaced in a different way”.
“Obviously the GP clinic remains there, of course we’ve got the district nurses who are able to go to people’s homes. It’s a different model but a much stronger model,” he said.
“There are a number of district nurses (available) so people just need to make an appointment.
“There are no suggestions at all we’ll be pulling out of Clunes.”
Mr Campbell also said if Clunes Medical Centre wanted to replace the retired nurse, they should consider recruiting one rather than “rely on the public purse”.
However, Mr Campbell said Hepburn Health was happy to take a list of services required by the medical centre and do its best to provide them.