As the longest serving Aboriginal councillor on Gunnedah shire I was one of the supporters of the creation of the rural health centre which utilized funding by the federal government, Shenhua, and that provided by the local community, when it was built in 2012.

I, like many of the early supporters of the concept, have been very disappointed the two attempts at operating the facility have not been successful at providing the much-needed medical services for our community.

However, as an Aboriginal person living in Gunnedah shire which has some 13 per cent identifying as Aboriginal, I do not believe it is in the best interest of our community to have Winanga-Li Aboriginal Children Family Centre, an organisation set up to provide preschool education and community services, run an important medical facility.

Rather, as I understand that the community group who have been meeting regularly in order to have input into the concept for the redevelopment of the Gunnedah hospital site, which is on NSW Health Department land, not private land, has expressed an interest in the redevelopment.

I believe that idea is in the best interests for our community.

The concept of the medical centre being managed and operated by medical professionals makes sense to me. Gunnedah needs the rural health centre operational, not another failed model.

As an Aboriginal person myself, I believe in integration not segregation and the operation of the centre by qualified medical practitioners, with the advice of a local community advisory board, appeals to me more than the model in your news story.

I call upon the community to get behind the idea of the centre being included in the hospital redevelopment proposals if we want a continuously operating, functional medical centre.

Gwen Griffen, Gunnedah