On Thursday, Yass businessman Touie Smith Jr was contacted by a journalist from the Sun-Herald about $18, 386.50 owed to him by the Greater Southern Area Health Service for work done on local hospitals.
On Saturday morning the money appeared in his bank account, one day before the news broke about his grievances. Mr Smith said he was thrilled to be finally paid for work dating back to April but disappointed it took the actions of a national newspaper and local MP Katrina Hodgkinson (pictured) to force the Greater Southern Area Health Service (GSAHS) into action.
Mr Smith said he was “disgusted” with the way GSAHS treated his family-owned and operated air-conditioning business.
For months Mr Smith’s office called the GSAHS head office, which is based in Wagga, to ask when the $18,386.50 owed for work done on Yass and Goulburn hospitals would be paid. His calls went mostly unanswered and his concerns largely unaddressed.
“GSAHS had a complete disregard for our business. They said we were on a list and at some stage they would go through the list…
“It was a very worrying disregard because we had absolutely no idea when or if we would get paid,” Mr Smith said.
“We are a small business and we have to be very careful with our money management and outstanding amounts of this size can be very damaging.”
A frustrated Mr Smith wrote a letter expressing his concerns to the Member for Burrinjuck Katrina Hodgkinson. He believes the Sun-Herald journalist caught wind of the problem after Ms Hodgkinson raised the matter in parliament.
Ms Hodgkinson said the situation was a "disgraceful state of affairs" and by no means an isolated incident.
"Greater Southern Area Health Service and its predecessor the Southern Arean Health Service has struggled to pay its bills for years because of underfunding by the NSW Labor government."
Mr Smith said the hard-working people at Yass and Goulburn hospitals were very understanding of his predicament and that he would have no hesitation in working for either hospital in the future.
“I would like to make it clear that the people at the local level were very helpful and very understanding – it was out of their hands.”
“We are living in the local community and we have a responsibility to the local hospitals, it’s just a pity the people doing the paying are not aware of that.”
A spokesperson from the Greater Southern Area Health Service acknowledged some creditors have not been paid within agreed terms. The spokesperson apologised to those creditors and said health is facing a number of challenges at present and these factors are impacting on the operating costs of the health system.
"In response, GSAHS is implementing a number of strategies to create savings in expenditure across the health service. These strategies will not impact on the Area Health Service’s commitment to providing safe clinical care," the spokesperson said.
Any creditors who have queries about their account should call the GSAHS creditor hotline on 1800 044 553.
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