Long-term Gulgong Hospital patient Hamen Vile has called on the State Government to honour a promise made by former Health Minister John Della Bosca that he would not be moved.
The Greater Western Area Health Service (GWAHS) has confirmed that the hospital will close for 10 days over Christmas and New Year and that patients will be either discharged or moved to other hospitals at noon today.
But Mr Vile, a resident of the hospital for decades, said yesterday that if GWAHS came to move him, he and other patients would refuse to leave.
“I believe this whole closure comes back to GWAHS trying to get me out of Gulgong Hospital,” Mr Vile said.
“If they get me out on Wednesday and move me to either Mudgee or Dunedoo, I believe they will then close Gulgong Hospital.
“When John Della Bosca was NSW Health Minister he said that I was to stay here and not be moved.
“It is rubbish to suggest that this closure will be because there will be no doctors for 11 days.
“In the past there have been many instances where there has been no doctor in town for up to eight days with no problems.
“I do not believe what GWAHS are saying - I believe they have an ulterior motive and that is to run Gulgong Hospital down and then close it.”
Mr Vile said that in recent months he has had to put up with some visitors being interrogated why they were visiting and has also had to put up with his toes being bitten by mice in a mouse plague about five months ago.
“Only last week a computer specialist came to see me about computer programs and she was harassed about what business she had with me,” he said.
“I was treated like I was in Long Bay jail.”
Mr Vile said if he is moved it will inconvenience relatives who are planning to come to Gulgong to be able to visit him over Christmas.
“My nephew, for instance, is travelling several hundred kilometres to come and visit me and if moved will have an additional trek to make,” Mr Vile added.
“To move me at this time of the year is hardly in the Christmas spirit at what is the most important time of the year for families.”
Mr Vile said during a mouse plague last July he had to arrange to get his own mouse traps and caught a dozen mice in the first few days.
“The mice chewed my toes and the doctor had to give me a tetanus injection and put me on antibiotics to ensure I did not get an infection.,” he said.
“When this happened they wouldn’t let anyone see me - how dare they question my visitors as to why they want to visit me.”
Mr Vile said he has not been told if he the plan is to move him to Mudgee or Dunedoo but fellow patient John Biffin has been told he will be moved to Dunedoo.
Mr Vile said he was unaware what plans were being made for a third, terminally ill, patient at Gulgong Hospital.
Mr Biffin was moved to Gulgong recently from Lourdes so that facility could close for Christmas and said he did not want to be moved again.
Mr Biffin has family in Mudgee and if taken to Dunedoo it would at a great inconvenience to his family and said that he would stand firm with Hamen Vile in refusing to move.
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