General News
26 June, 2024
Normanton community to lead haemodialysis fundraising campaign
Locals want to make sure the service is provided at a local level.
A fundraising and information campaign is planned to increase community awareness of the plight of haemodialysis patients in Normanton.
Carpentaria Shire councillor Cherie Schafer, who had led a community campaign to include haemodialysis services as part of the new Normanton hospital construction, said she was encouraged to increase the scope of her efforts, following a meeting with North West Hospital and Health Service (NWHHS) chief executive Sean Birgan via video call last week.
Cr Schafer said while details of the new fundraising campaign were still being sketched out, she was planning at least one major event before the end of the year.
“An important part of fundraising is getting the community behind the project; getting everyone in the community to come together and feel empowered,” she said.
“We want to bring all the community along with us as we lobby for these dialysis services.”
Cr Schafer said the NWHHS video meeting provided a greater understanding of the community-led actions that can benefit government funding applications.
“I went into the meeting unsure of what was going to come from it,” she said.
“But I left the meeting happy with the outcomes – it was very positive and it gave me a good understanding of what is being done behind the scenes and what we can do in the Normanton community to help get these haemodialysis services up and running.
“I said I was happy to do whatever I could on the ground.”
NWHHS has submitted an expression of interest for a four-chair community dialysis unit under the Better Renal Services for First Nations People budget measures.