OPINION: Community is right to demand answers about Playmates

To me it seems the community have now become confused by the issue.

I've heard everything from "it's a commercial decision, playmates should just find another location" to "health services should come before childcare" and even "Playmates Cottage knew years ago that they would have to seek new premises".

There is even an odd notion that because Playmates does not offer night or weekend care they should close.

Let me clarify some of these criticisms. Firstly, yes it is a commercial decision, but Playmates is not an ordinary business. It's one of the very few childcare centres that is not for profit.

Added to that, Playmates was built years ago from the good work of the community of Dubbo.

Tax dollars were facilitated by Dubbo City Council for a childcare centre to be constructed on land near the hospital.

The site that Playmates is located on was offered by the hospital to council for the childcare centre.

There is no way that the Dubbo community would have fundraised for this facility if it knew that it was simply going to be bulldozed years later in a redevelopment.

Other people in the community have said just find another location. Well that's easier said than done.

Playmates is in that location next to the hospital to both serve health workers and that geographic location of the city.

Right now just over 40 per cent of the children who attend the centre are from families who are somewhere employed in health.

A new facility would therefore be needed on land available near the hospital. It has also been estimated that a facility like this could cost up to $1.5 million to build.

Remembering that Playmates Cottage is a not for profit facility, finding $1.5 million isn't an easy feat let alone finding land that is properly zoned for such a use.

So far approaches to the federal government for a Long Day Care Capital Funding Exceptional Circumstances grant and a Community Support Program grant have been rejected.

We have also had people on social media say that their child couldn't get a spot at Playmates so it should be closed. That's a notion that beggars belief.

How on earth can closing down a facility like this fix the problem of not having enough childcare places in Dubbo?

Some people have wondered why Playmates does not take children at night or weekends. That's a very good point - but it should be noted that this issue is to do with licencing from government agencies for such varied longer opening hours and the cost of providing this care.

Playmates has always been open to the idea of expanded services if and when the appropriate government agencies were to grant it the license to do so.

A little known point is that Playmates also tends to be the first port of call from government agencies such as DOCs for children at risk.

Playmates has a proud history of being one of the most trusted childcare centres by DOCs in a real time of crisis. I just cannot believe that health authorities are really saying that Dubbo should have a facility like this simply bulldozed with no replacement or compensatory funds to rebuild.

Let us also consider the wider implications of the community finding another location and funding another facility.

The fact is that the impending bulldozing of Playmates is because of the decisions of Sydney based health authorities.

Should locals have to again pick up the slack because Sydney does not see a need for adequate childcare in the city of Dubbo? I think not.

If Playmates were to be closed it would indeed cause a crisis of confidence for anyone or organisation wanting to donate to or assist public health.

For years to come it would be at the back of people's minds that every fundraiser for the hospital potentially has a shelf life where their hard work via donations can simply be bulldozed.

I challenge anyone to do a simple 'Google Map' search of the Dubbo Base Hospital site and they would be amazed at how much land is available at the site.

I cannot get my head around the notion that a good architect cannot design a new hospital facility while leaving the tiny dot which is Playmates alone. Another solution is to simply build a new Playmates into the new hospital facility - a solution that has fallen on deaf ears.

There has also been criticism that I have only got involved in this fight to grandstand and seek electoral attention.

Newsflash to those people - the hundred or so families that go to Playmates is not even a quota for election to council.

Indeed, if anything I have been sidelined from other bigger more media sensational issues over the past 12 months because a lot of my time and political capital has been engaged with Playmates.

The reason I'm doing this is because I believe that Playmates is a very important part of our health and community facilities and Dubbo needs the best facilities as possible.

Trust me - there are more votes in talking about the more sensational issues like law and order than there is in dealing with health bureaucrats!

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since Troy Grant originally promised parents that "Playmates would not be disadvantaged from the hospital redevelopment".

It seems to me that it's all fine and dandy to simply build another hospital building. But it's pointless having a great hospital building when doctors, nurses and other health professionals have essentially had their working conditions downgraded because their childcare facility has been taken away.

The simple truth to the matter is that we need to attract the very best possible health workers to our city.

One of the keys to attracting great hospital staff is offering close by services like childcare.

It's not a clever move to bulldoze childcare facilities utilised by healthcare workers.