Locals need dialysis too

Travel for treatment takes its toll.

HEALTH STRAIN: Ian Williams travels to Rockhampton twice a week on the bus for his dialysis treatments. Picture: Contributed

BECAUSE of a lack of services in Emerald, Ian Williams must travel twice a week to Rockhampton for life-saving renal dialysis treatment.

Mr Williams, who celebrates his 70th birthday next Tuesday, started travelling to Rockhampton for treatment in May last year.

He has to take the Greyhound bus two times a week for his treatments, taking him away from his family and putting a strain on his health.

"It has an impact on your personal life, on your health and one thing that leads to that is the fact you have to travel to Rockhampton two times a week,” he said.

"I'm married, I have children and grandchildren and only get very limited time to spend with them.

"At the present time, there is no other option than to do it that way.”

Mr Williams said "to have that service here in Emerald would be an absolute plus”.

"It would take so much pressure off in regards to travel, living away from home and accommodation,” he said.

He is undergoing Home Dialysis Training in Rockhampton and requesting a home dialysis unit in Emerald, allowing him to have the treatment locally.

"There is nothing west of Rockhampton that is able to be used by dialysis patients,” Mr Williams said.

Member for Gregory Lachlan Millar has been pushing for a renal dialysis chair for Emerald for more than a year.

"We have Emerald residents travelling on a bus to Rockhampton twice a week for their treatments, having to sleep over Thursday night for the Friday session,” he said.

"I've lobbied to the Minister for Health on numerous occasions and I was hopeful that the State Budget would deliver the funding for the service - but alas, there was increased services for Brisbane and nothing for the Central West or Central Highlands.

"During the next Parliamentary sitting week, I will be asking the minister a question on notice directly regarding this issue and will be seeking to meet with him as well.”

Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services Steven Miles went on record last week saying: "I understand the health service has a long-term vision to be able to provide dialysis more locally, but that is not possible at the moment”.

"The Queensland Government is investing significantly in regional dialysis services, the last budget had $20 million to put a satellite dialysis into the North West and Cape and certainly we'll monitor the effectiveness of that additional funding to see whether it can be implemented elsewhere,” he said.

"We are increasing the services we provide locally, but it's never going to be possible to do everything in every single hospital, that is the case for now.”