Kidney clinic best here

Cairns’ strong bid for transplant centre

CAIRNS is battling with Townsville to be the site of a new kidney transplant unit.

Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service has made a submission to Queensland Health for Cairns Hospital to become the site of the state’s second kidney transplant unit.

Cairns LNP candidate Sam Marino has pledged $2 million to help build the facility in Far North Queensland as a key election promise.

But Townsville is making a renewed push. Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said it was “the only place a new kidney transplant site should be established in North Queensland”.

Cairns Mayor Bob Manning said the decision should be based on where the need was greatest.

“Our hope is that common sense prevails and the welfare of the patients is the only consideration here,” he said.

Cr Manning and

Cook

Shire Mayor Peter Scott, as well as the leaders of Regional Development Australia Tropical North, the Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils, the Torres Cape Indigenous Council Alliance, Wuchopperen Health Service and Apunipima Cape York Health Council have cosigned a letter of support for Cairns’ submission.

Last year, 19 Cairns patients received transplants in Brisbane, compared to seven

Townsville patients.

Cr Scott said Cairns was the receiving centre for all of Cape York, where the majority of Indigenous and isolated communities were based in Queensland and where kidney disease was high.

“I know from past history that people who need to use dialysis, if they can do it from home rather than travelling, it can increase life expectancy by up to 30 per cent,” he said.

“That was our argument for getting the dialysis centre in Cooktown and applies to this.

“A couple of Indigenous mayors in FNQROC said when people go away for major surgery, they need family support accommodation. These mayors said we’ve got plenty of relatives and support in Cairns but nothing in Townsville.”