Push for new ambulance station at Eton or Marian
Residents, Mirani MP say the nearest station at Paget is too far away in life-threatening emergencies
Mackay
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THERE is a push for a new ambulance station at Eton as residents say the nearest one at Paget is too far in life-threatening emergencies.
Kinchant Dam resident Bill Ruffell said the area needed one as the halfway point between Mackay and Nebo.
“There’s a hell of a lot of traffic on the Peak Downs Highway,” Mr Ruffell said.
“A lot of people don’t realise but that’s one of the busiest inland highways in Australia.
“If there’s an accident, say at the top of the range, it takes a long time (for an ambulance) to get from Mackay or to get from Nebo.”
In a recent performance report into QAS’s response time to Code 1 emergencies, 90 per cent of the call-outs across the Mackay Local Ambulance Service Network were responded to in about 18 minutes, with almost half under eight minutes.
But using Eton’s police station as a central point, the two closest Queensland Ambulance Service stations by road are Paget at 26 minutes driving distance away and Finch Hatton at 40 minutes.
With less than one in three QAS patients surviving cardiac arrests, Eton residents were concerned the extra time to get to them may mean the difference between life and death.
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Mirani MP Stephen Andrew said either Marian or Eton would be suitable for a new station and suggested Eton’s Police Station could be converted into a combined precinct.
“The police station is dated and we need to do a precinct where the QAS and the police actually survive on the same block of ground,” the One Nation MP said.
“There’s plenty of land there, and obviously the rural fire brigade is right next door.”
He said about 80,000 drivers already used the Peak Downs Highway per week and an extra ambulance station would cater for anticipated urban sprawling as more people looked for “lifestyle” blocks halfway between Mackay and the mines.
The QAS has 18 stations in the Mackay LASN stretching from Bowen in the north, Clermont in the west and Carmila in the south with a further two honorary stations at Seaforth and St Lawrence.
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But the Marian area, which incorporates Eton, would not be getting a new ambulance station in the near future.
A QAS spokesman said the area was already supported by the Finch Hatton and South Mackay stations as well as the CQ Rescue helicopter with its “dedicated paramedic”.
“Regular reviews of several factors including, the type of community (urban, rural and isolated), the number of incidents per day (demand), age demographic of the community, available health infrastructure and access to services are undertaken to establish the location and requirement for ambulance stations,” the spokesman said.
“The Mackay Local Ambulance Service Network received 18.1 full-time equivalent staff enhancements in the 2019-20 financial year, inclusive of paramedics, supervisors and operational support staff.
“These staff enhancements also included a Local-area Assessment and Referral Unit paramedic response, which is a first for the Mackay area.”
The spokesman said QAS continuously monitored the state’s resources and was committed to ensuring an “appropriate level of service” was provided to every community.
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