August 26, 2013
by John Box
The Kingaroy Local Ambulance Committee held its Biannual General Meeting at the temporary station in Haly Street on Thursday night (August 22).
Annual reports were received and elections were held for the executive positions for the coming two years.
John Box and Sharon Leach were re-elected to their positions of President and Treasurer respectively.
Vice-President Peter McLennan stepped down from his role due to being regularly on shift when meetings are held. Peter was replaced by Debbie-Lee Jackson. Secretary Noreen Brier stepped down and Christine Box was elected to the position.
Officer-In-Charge Nolan Jones reflected on the high level of activity at the station with 622 cases attended to in the last month with 134 of these being Code 1.
With the extra Renal Dialysis roster at the Kingaroy General Hospital, the number of patient transfers to Toowoomba has reduced significantly.
Due to the redistribution of ambulance boundaries, the Kingaroy station now comes under the Darling Downs region.
The station fleet has been basically been upgraded in the last 12 months with two new vehicles recently being presented by the Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington.
The new station in Kent Street is on target for completion by Christmas.
President John Box spoke of the major achievement for the year being the hosting of the North Coast Regional Conference in Kingaroy which brought a large number of delegates to town.
The Commissioner and Assistant Commissioners were at the conference and all who attended were very appreciative of the hospitality provided by the Kingaroy Committee.
The station staff and LAC members were visited by Minister Jack Delaney during the year, and since the boundary changes Assistant Commissioner Darling Downs Mick Metcalfe has made several visits.
The events planned for the coming year include re-establishing in the new station and holding a decorate-a-cupcake week in the mall with children’s rides in ‘Axel the Ambulance’ in the Christmas holidays.
There will also be basic health checks available by paramedics during that week.
The committee is always on the lookout for new members from the general public. They can call John on 0408-879-286 for an update on LAC activities and raise any issues with ambulance services.
Guest Speaker Peter Stewart from Warwick, the Queensland Local Ambulance Committee Representative for Darling Downs, spoke on the Assistant Commissioners Reference Group meetings and the need to keep communication lines open from the community across the region.
Peter also spoke of the future of LACs being more of an open contact point for the community rather than just a fund-raising venture.
Anybody wishing to write to the LAC should send mail to PO Box 19, Kingaroy, 4610 or via email to the Secretary Chris Box.
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