PRICE OF PAIN: Residents miss out on patient travel subsidy
THE Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme is "failing" Agnes Water residents who continue to miss out on financial support, despite travelling up to 250km for treatment
Gladstone
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QUEENSLAND'S Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme is "failing" Agnes Water residents who continue to miss out on financial support, despite travelling up to 250km for medical treatment.
Those missing out include a resident who travels to Bundaberg twice a week for renal dialysis.
Describing the system as "dysfunctional", Member for Burnett Stephen Bennett said the anomaly showed the scheme was failing Agnes Water residents and needed review.
He spoke of the renal dialysis patient's plight during Queensland Parliament last month.
Mr Bennett later called for a reassessment of the eligibility of Agnes Water residents for travel subsidies to Bundaberg.
But it seems no relief is in sight with Mr Bennett told this week there were no plans to change the eligibility criteria.
Mr Bennett said Agnes Water residents had been ineligible for the subsidy since 2015 if they travelled to Bundaberg for medical treatment.
"Residents were formerly able to be subsidised for the cost of travel from their nearest hospital at Gin Gin," he said.
"This all changed in 2015 when their nearest hospital became Bundaberg due to a reluctance on the part of the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service to include unsealed roads in the travel calculations to the nearest hospital."
Mr Bennett said the Minister for Health, Steven Miles, responded to his concerns and said while a review of the guidelines was on the cards, it would not extend to changes to the eligibility criteria.
The scheme, which allocates $80million per year in subsidies, provides financial support to patients who travel more than 50km from their nearest hospital to attend medical appointments.
Despite Bundaberg Hospital being 122km from Agnes Water, residents are not eligible for the subsidy because it is classified as their nearest hospital.
A Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service spokesman said the nearest hospital was changed to Bundaberg due to safety concerns about the road toGin Gin Hospital.
The service's 'route' to Gin Gin includes Diamond Hill Rd, an unsealed road with cattle grids.
"While this decision was made in response to community objections and in the interests of safety, it did result in people being ineligible for the patient travel subsidy if they require care at Bundaberg Hospital," he said.
The spokesman said the service would continue to work with Discovery Coast patients to offer convenient care, including considering telehealth appointments.
An Agnes Water mother whose teenage daughter has a medical condition told The Observer that on top of confusion about how far they had to travel to be eligible, the subsidy system was complexto use.
She and her family relocated to the coastal town from the Northern Territory, where she said accessing patient travel subsidies was far simpler.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said she knew of other residents who also struggled with the system.
Working in the health industry, she said she had heard the struggles other residents have had, with some putting off treatment because they could not afford to travel to the hospital and pay for accommodation.
A Queensland Health spokesperson said the department had begun implementing new measures, based on a Queensland Ombudsman report, to make the scheme easier to use and more efficient.
They said the aim was to improve patient journeys and reduce obstacles for applying for assistance.
"Patients, staff, clinicians, non-government organisations and other relevant stakeholders have had the opportunity to participate in activities and provide feedback in the development of enhancements to the scheme," the spokesperson said.
But they said there were currently no plans to change eligibility.
Mr Miles said Queensland Health had started to implement recommendations to improve the scheme, including a new-look, simpler website.
"As Australia's most decentralised state, Queensland's doctors, nurses and health staff do a great job at delivering world-class care in some of the most rural and remote areas," he said.
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