A public inpatient palliative care facility looks set to become a reality for Orange with the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) calling for expressions of interest to provide a local service.

On Tuesday, Chief Executive of WNSWLHD, Scott McLachlan, announced they would looking to partner with an organisation which can provide up to four inpatient Palliative end-of-life beds here in Orange.

“Under the Expressions of Interest which will be released later this week, the WNSWLHD will be able to consider all possible options for the provision of publicly funded inpatient palliative end-of-life care service” said Mr McLachlan.

“This service will be outside of the Orange Hospital and will offer a more home-like environment for inpatient palliative end-of-life care.

“The local community want to know that people at the end of their life, their families and friends are supported in the most comfortable way possible.”

Mr McLachlan said the EOI process will ensure that the appropriate funding, clinical and logistics arrangements are in place for the service to operate efficiently, and to meet the expectations of the health service and its patients.

“The EOI will be open for eight weeks to ensure everyone has the opportunity to respond,”  Mr McLachlan said.

“Initial arrangements will be for 12 months, so we can review how the model is operating for patients, their families and the service providers.”

Member for Orange and Chair of the Orange Palliative Working Group, Phil Donato, welcomed the news and said it is the result of a lot of hard work from the community.

“It certainly is good news and promising,” said Mr Donato. “There is a great need in our community for this. There were over 10,000 signatures on that petition which I tabled and debated in parliament early last year... there is no doubt this is the result of the relentless pressure that Push for Palliative and the Palliative Working Group and myself have placed on [the NSW Government] and it looks like they are going to deliver.”

Earlier this year Ramsay Health pitched a proposal for a public/private four-bed palliative care facility at the Dudley Private Hospital in Orange.

Paul McKenna, the new CEO of Dudley Private Hospital said they will be submitting an expression of interest as soon as possible.

“Most definitely. we'll be putting in a tender when they open, I think at the end of the week and hope that we can secure those beds for the region. It has been a long time coming,” Mr. McKenna said.

The EOI documentation is expected to be made available on the WNSWLHD website within the next week.