Katters’ concerned hard work for regional dialysis may be in vein
Three times a week, Patricia Kennedy boards a bus early in the morning and makes the near two hour trip to Townsville so she can live a normal life.
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THREE times a week Patricia Kennedy boards a bus early in the morning and makes the nearly two-hour trip to Townsville so she can live a normal life. But it means her life is far from it.
The lifesaving dialysis treatment she needs is unavailable in Charters Towers, her home of 49 years.
It’s the same scenario for many in Ingham and Ayr who have to travel to Townsville multiple times a week to access the treatment.
And with a state election on the horizon, there’s a push to bring more dialysis services to the North following “promising discussions”.
Ms Kennedy said having the services available in Charters Towers would be life-changing, allowing her to spend more time at home with her kids.
“It puts a lot of strain (on me) because I have a granddaughter and a nine-year-old I look after, and (I’m) getting up early, getting them ready for school before I catch the bus,” she said.
“I’ve got a 74-year-old mother who’s not well ... and I like to be closer to her, and my children don’t like living in the big city … I wouldn’t move.”
According to the latest available data (2014-15), dialysis hospitalisations were higher in North Queensland than anywhere else in the state.
During this period there were 7200 dialysis-related hospitalisations per 100,000 people in North Queensland compared to 3760 in Brisbane North and 4206 in Brisbane South.
Katter’s Australian Party said dialysis services remained critically underfunded despite positive ongoing discussions with the Townsville Hospital and Health Service and the health minister’s office.
And Traeger MP Robbie Katter said all that work could be undone with just two weeks until the state government goes into caretaker mode.
“We are desperately calling on the Palaszczuk Labor government to give these patients and their families some certainty,” he said. “There are few health issues in North Queensland more pressing.”
Health Minister Steven Miles acknowledged the strain on families travelling for treatment and said he had asked THHS to look into viable options for renal dialysis in Ingham and Charters Towers.
“This is a complex task and will consider cost, the number of patients and the ability to recruit skilled nursing staff,” Mr Miles said.
This year Townsville University Hospital opened a new $4.6m renal dialysis unit.
Originally published as Katters’ concerned hard work for regional dialysis may be in vein