‘Unbearable’ wait for health care
Push for ‘world class’ hospital system
QUEENSLAND politicians have slammed rural health wait times, going as far to move a vote of no confidence in the current state health Minister.
Katter’s Australian Party MPS supported a vote of no confidence in health Minister Yvette D’ath earlier in the week.
KAP leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter said the health system has radically declined over the last decade and was now at the point of being “unbearable”.
“Rural and regional Queenslands know better than anyone how sick this system is,” Mr Katter said.
The Mount Isa-based politicians dedicated his Wednesday speech in parliament to the late Mervyn ‘Stumpy’ Barratt, a Cloncurry man and member of Mr Katter’s electorate.
Mr Barratt died last month after waiting almost eight months to see a cardiologist – well outside the proper wait time.
Mr Katter said it was difficult to pinpoint where the breakdown in the health service was happening.
“Certainly we’ve noticed since I’ve been an MP, the health services in Mount Isa have been reducing,” he said.
“We are losing things like psychiatrists, orthopaedic surgeons and dentists and this puts added pressure on the coast.”
Statistics from Townsville University Hospital’s own elective surgery and specialist outpatient lists painted a bad picture.
In the Townsville data, 56 per cent of those waiting to see a cardiologist were not seen within clinically recommended time frames.
When it came to eye surgery, 74 per cent of those waiting were not seen in time.
Elective surgery was fairing better, but it still wasn’t great, with 27 per cent of Townsville patients not being treated within the recommended time frames – one in every four patients.
Statewide the waitlists were similar, with 21 per cent of elective surgery patients not being seen in time and 36 per cent of people waiting to see a specialist for the first time not being seen within clinically recommended time frames.
Queensland Opposition leader David Crisafulli said the statistics tell a truly heartbreaking tale.
“Everyone deserves a world-class health system,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“This show that Queenslanders aren’t just dying waiting for an ambulance to arrive, they’re dying waiting for surgery and vital treatment.”
Mr Crisafulli blamed the sluggish health system on the last seven years. “Regional Queenslanders are falling through the cracks,” he said.
The health system has been under extreme pressure ever since Covid began in 2020.
On Thursday, Health Minister Yvette D’ath said in parliament the government was investing more than $943m over the next seven years to build new health facilities or replace health facilities in the state’s most remote communities.
“That shows that the Palaszczuk government is here to deliver health services for all Queenslanders — in our largest cities as well as our smallest towns and remote communities,” she said.