PUMPED UP TO AID CHILDREN
ONE in three children living on the Gold Coast has ended up in hospital in the past 12 months, some with dangerous infections, illnesses and life-threatening conditions.
This surprising statistic has emergency departments overrun, with the latest data from Queensland Health showing that in July 42 per cent of patients taken to Gold Coast University or Robina hospitals via ambulance waited on stretchers for longer than 30 minutes.
The Queensland average was 31 per cent and in January the Gold Coast average was 29 per cent.
The Gold Coast Hospital Foundation is pleading for vital support to help the large number of children being admitted to hospital as part of Scrub Up September.
The theme of the month is all about “scrubbing up” for kids in hospital, with fundraising activities including squat record challenges, trivia nights, kids’ colour run and free dress days donning scrub hat and dressing up like doctors and nurses.
Katherine Wiltshire is one of the local families who was grateful for help when her son, Thomas, 4, was born three months early suffering a bilateral brain bleed. Doctors were not sure the boy would survive and he was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
“There were times when we didn’t know if he’d talk or we would be able to have a conversation with him. It’s been a pretty difficult thing to have been faced with,” Mrs Wiltshire said.
“Thomas has come leaps and bounds already in his short life. Just a few months ago we were able to remove the feeding tubes – so he’s able to eat for the first time.”
Gym buffs at Inside Out Health Club, in Parkwood, will be raising money by doing thousands of squats over the month – 3432 to be precise, which is the number of children admitted to Gold Coast hospitals last year.
Owner Tim Sutcliffe, who will run special squat classes to raise money for the Gold Coast Hospital Foundation.
Visit gchfoundation .org.au/support-us/scrubup-september to register or donate.