She says the transition from Orange Base Hospital to the new site on Forest Road has left a void in the provision of a private self-contained palliative care area for patients, and Orange has taken a backward step.

Orange hospital has moved to a model where palliative care patients are assigned to private rooms throughout the hospital if they are available for patients at the end of their life.

“I have been following the debate and have been thinking about all those people in Orange - the service clubs and individuals who raised so much money to build a palliative care unit at the other hospital,” she said.

“This is a fantastic facility here now with some wonderful specialists, so surely we can find somewhere in the new hospital which can be set aside as a private place for families who just want to be with their loved ones at the end of life.”

Dr Hunt said in the 1980s when it was identified Orange was desperately in need of a palliative care unit, she could not believe the speed with which the community galvanised to raise funds to build a dedicated area at the former base hospital.

“There was this tremendous effort at the time by the people of Orange to raise that money because they saw palliative care as a priority,” she said.

Dr Hunt said a great deal of thought went into the planning of the previous palliative care unit at Orange Base Hospital.

“We had lounges for families who needed to do their grieving and prepare to say goodbye and to take a break from caring for their family or friend,” she said.

“People were able to come and go night and day through a separate private entrance and we had cooking facilities available as well - it was a very private place for families.”

Dr Hunt said she didn’t want to detract from the new hospital facility on Forest Road.

“It is a big hospital and there are some fantastic things happening out there with some wonderful specialists, but I feel very strongly about this,” Dr Hunt said.

The palliative care issue at the hospital has come under notice since an area of the hospital on the ground floor, which housed palliative care patients, was shut down and staff assigned to other areas of the hospital.

Earlier this week Dr Louis Christie, who oversees the treatment of palliative patients at Orange hospital, told the CWD the hospital focused on providing patients with the highest level of care and compassion during the final days and hours of their life, and it was the type of care not the location that was crucial for patients and their families.

janice.harris@fairfaxmedia.com.au