HEALTH PLAN

PLANS to initiate a health tourism process involving wealthy foreigners to utilise spare capacity in the private health system in the Toowoomba area has rightly caused a level of indignation among Queenslanders.

Waiting lists in the public system remain unacceptably long and while there have been some improvements in recent times, these appear to have plateaued.

We all have friends or colleagues who have waited months, or even years, for treatment or procedures at a public hospital which could make a marked difference in their health outcomes and quality of life.

Elderly friends of ours have limped around in pain for 12 months or more while awaiting knee surgery in the public system, while executives in the private system contemplate which wealthy tourists could best fill their empty beds.

This smacks of social injustice. If this spare capacity exists, Queensland Health has a role, or indeed an obligation, to explore all options feasible to utilise this capacity for the betterment of Queenslanders.

St Vincent’s and St Andrews are wonderful institutions and Toowoomba is fortunate to have the services of such mighty facilities.

Should the government be able to progress some form of cross-subsidisation to allow private hospitals to treat the overflow from the public waiting lists, with no detriment to their own balance sheet, this would surely be a win-win situation for the hospitals and would be welcomed enthusiastically by the public.