Hay Hospital will transition to a Multipurpose Service (MPS) in the new year, increasing service quality and efficiency for the community and supporting access to a mix of health and aged care services.
Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) Chief Executive Jill Ludford said the transition will begin in early February 2024, with funding pooled from the State and Commonwealth Governments.
Ms Ludford said the community are assured the MPS will complement existing services and the Emergency Department will continue to operate 24 hours, seven days a week.
“The model allows the delivery of a range of health and aged care services to meet the specific needs of a local rural community, such as residential aged care and respite, palliative care, emergency care, allied health and primary and community health services,” Ms Ludford said.
“We will see an increased flexibility of services and the ability to be responsive to community needs.
“The MPS model is designed to specifically address the needs of small rural and remote areas which are unable to sustain standalone acute and aged care services due to small populations.”
There are 19 long-term aged care residents in the Hay Health Service, who will become the first official residents of the Hay MPS, with more residents expected to be welcomed in the coming months.
MLHD’s General Manager Rural Operations Tegan Reid thanked the community for their advocacy for the change to an MPS model for Hay.
“There has been very strong support from the Hay community and surrounding regions for the MPS,” Ms Reid said.
“The community appreciates the benefits that come with MPS funding and believe the flexibility of the model is important for the long-term viability of their facility.”
MLHD was successful in its application to the Australian Government MPS Program, that provides access to integrated health and aged care services to support improved quality of care for residents and patients.
