Joan de Bondt, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper
Besides the obvious fear of contracting COVID-19, mental health is the underlying health issue facing the community in these stressful and uncertain times. Rural communities have been faced with drought as well as the pandemic. Most psychologists have so many clients seeking appointments that they are forced to put people on wait lists, and many people, men in particular, are reluctant to admit that they are struggling emotionally.
The Barham Local Health Advisory Committee (LHAC) is holding a free two-day course, ‘Mental Health First Aid’ on May 5 and 6.
Lois Opie, the facility manager of Barham Hospital, explained that it is all very well to ask people if they’re okay, but if they say no, how should you respond? This program will provide strategies to help. The course, offered by Murrumbidgee Local Health District, is limited to 22 participants, so anybody wishing to register should contact Suzanne, the receptionist at the hospital.
COVID-19 has restricted the activities of the LHAC, which is an advisory group comprising seven community members as well as a local clinician. Each town with a hospital has its own committee, the closest to Barham being Deniliquin and Moulamein. Twice a year, the groups get together to share information.
The members of the Barham committee meet once a month to identify local service needs, to discuss ways to improve access to services, and to assist in planning and development. They provide valuable input into planning health services and in informing the local community of the availability of services. They encourage members of the public to raise their concerns and to offer suggestions about programs that they would like to see implemented. Lois Opie is the person to contact at the hospital, and she will discuss these issues with the committee at the following meeting.
Although the Barham Hospital is small, it offers allied health services which include a dietician, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, a mental health consultant, a baby health care nurse, and x-ray facilities which are currently in the process of being upgraded.
The committee members, Liz Storm (chair), Judy Lake, Debbie Lindsay, Sally McConnell, Cheryl Hollard, Christine Grant and Karen Buckley, extend an invitation to interested members of the public to come on board.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 7 April 2022.
