Peninsula Community Access Edition 372
News Phone 4325 7369 Fax 4321 0940
20 July 2015
Discarded syringes collected three times a week Discarded syringes are collected twice a week from around Woy Woy Hospital’s needle exchange and the nearby McEvoy oval by Central Coast Health staff and once a week by a volunteer group according to Central Coast Health , an investigation by Peninsula News has revealed.
The Woy Woy Motor Registry will soon be vacant if the efforts of the community and its representatives to keep it open do not work
Council votes unanimously to retain motor registry Gosford Council has voted unanimously to support the retention of the Woy Woy Motor Registry. The council will write to the Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight to support the local community in having the decision to close the Woy Woy registry reversed. The motion was put by Labor councilor, deputy mayor Jim McFadyen, to the July 14 council meeting. In a show of bipartisan support, Liberal councillor Bob Ward seconded the motion. Cr McFadyen said the 35,000 people living on the Peninsula had been treated with contempt by the NSW Government. He said 1100 people used the Woy Woy shopfront monthly and it conducted more than 160 driving tests a month. He said the closure of the Woy Woy registry may result in Peninsula people who voted Liberal at the last NSW election not doing so again. Cr Ward said: “I appreciate the closure was made to reduce duplication of services.” “There are currently 36 one-
stop shops throughout the state with a further 34 scheduled to be rolled out. “Despite the attributable benefits, it would appear little or no community consultation went on before the decision was announced,” he said. Cr Ward said he believed Peninsula residents would be unfairly disadvantaged by the closure, particularly the elderly. “The drive from the Peninsula to the Gosford service can be arduous especially with the delays at the West Gosford intersection,” he said. “A lot more thought should have gone into the decision.” Cr Bowles suggested that, if the Peninsula currently had a sitting Liberal member of state parliament, the community may have had more of a chance of keeping the Woy Woy Motor Registry open. Cr Bowles said she did support the motion because the Peninsula needed the service. “This was obviously an on paper decision,” Cr Bowles said. “When I first heard it, I thought it was a hard-to-believe joke,” she said. According to Cr Bowles, the
closure of the Woy Woy motor registry had the potential to kill the Woy Woy town centre, which already has a number of empty shops. She called for the motion to be amended to ask for a reversal of the decision to close the current outlet and for a Services NSW one-stop-shop to be opened on the Peninsula. Cr Craig Doyle also spoke in favour of the motion. “At the end of the day, this boils down to a massive reduction in services. “They are saying the Peninsula is not worthy of this service,” Cr Doyle said. He said it was heartening to see Cr McFadyen and Cr Ward working in unison to support the people of the Peninsula and called on the local State members of parliament to put aside their political differences and join forces to work on the issue for their constituents. Gosford Council agenda, NM.8, 14 July 2015 Transcript, 14 July 2015 Reporter: Jackie Pearson
Member for Gosford Ms Kathy Smith raised the alarm about discarded syringes at both sites after a local resident had told her a large quantity of used hypodermic syringes had been discarded around the needle exchange at Woy Woy Hospital. “The person was rightly concerned about the possibility of contamination from needle pricks that this situation risked,” Ms Smith said. Ms Smith said she would prefer the area to be cleared on a more regular basis. The Woy Woy Needle and Syringe Program was located on the corner of Ocean Beach Rd and Kathleen St at Woy Woy Hospital, according to a statement from Central Coast Health. The program had three disposal bins at the hospital which can be utilised 24 hours a day and an additional disposal bin inside the program’s office. “The Local Health District works in conjunction with local councils and police to educate and encourage the community to dispose of used needle syringes in a safe and appropriate manner,” the statement said. “Following the recent discovery
of used injecting equipment at a sports field in Woy Woy, the Health District’s harm minimisation team included this site as one of its hotspots, which are regularly monitored by staff. “Harm minimisation team staff have continued to visit the area since the event and there has been no further evidence of injecting equipment and no further reports of injecting equipment at the site. “The harm minimisation team also regularly monitors the Woy Woy Hospital campus and immediate surrounding grounds, which includes the streets on the boundaries of the hospital. “There has been no evidence of injecting equipment or reports to the harm minimisation team of injecting equipment in the surrounding grounds. “Members of the public should contact the Needle Clean up Hotline if they find used injecting equipment on 1800 633 353.” The statement said: “The NSW Needle and Syringe Program (NSP) is an evidence-based public health program that aims to reduce the transmission of infections such as HIV and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs. “An important component of the NSP is the promotion and provision for the safe disposal of used injecting equipment.” Media release, 3 July 2015 Jacob Webb, Office of Kathy Smith Media statement, 7 July 2015 Jill Warwicker, Central Coast Local Health District Jackie Pearson, journalist
THIS ISSUE contains 55 articles - Read more news items for this issue at www.peninsulanews.info Office: 120c Erina Street, Gosford Phone: 4325 7369 Fax: 4321 0940 Mail: PO Box 1056, Gosford 2250 E-mail: editorial@centralcoastnews.net Website: www.centralcoastnews.net