Representation on many fronts from the action group to Hunter New England Local Health District are being dealt with at the health board’s meeting on July 19, action group president Alan Tickle said.

Among the issues presented by the action group includes a request to Hunter New England Health to demonstrate that there has been actual costing, specifications and a business case presented for funding of the proposed second and third stage of the Manning Hospital Redevelopment Plan, to the State Government.

Mr Tickle said the group also expressed concern over failure to address the review of the expired Clinical Services Plan, as well as tabling resource short falls that need planning and provisioning.

He said the recently announced $9 million for the hospital was not additional money, but part of the pre-election promise of the State Government, to deliver $20 for the first stage of the redevelopment proposal.

“The Hunter New England Health website shows that funds so far spent on stage one of the redevelopment comes to just over $11 million which means the funds released in the last State Budget are simply honouring the pre-election commitment of the $20 million.

“While there has been no specific response from the Health Minister, the Member for Port Macquarie Leslie Williams, has contacted me with assurances that she is following up our concerns,” Mr Tickle said.

“However the fact that the HNE health board has placed our representations on their agenda is positive, as we will at least get some clarity and a basis for further representation at a political level.

“We have however launched a petition that calls for funding to meet the second and third stage of the redevelopment plan,” Mr Tickle said

The August 22 public forum will be held at Club Taree at 7.15pm, immediately following the action group’s annual general meeting which starts at 6.30pm.