Wounded snake catcher's plea to upgrade hospital facilities

THE last place this snake catcher thought he would be on his 33rd birthday was the hospital but actually getting him there 'took far too long'.

BIRTHDAY BITE: Southern Downs reptile relocator Drew Godfrey got a little bit too much affection from a snake on his 33rd birthday.

A PASSIONATE snake catcher who spent his 33rd birthday in Warwick Hospital has called on the Queensland Government to improve facilities to treat venomous snakebites in the Southern Downs.

When Drew Godfrey was bitten by an eastern brown snake this time last week, he went to the Stanthorpe Hospital straight away.

He expected to receive immediate monitoring for envenomisation, but instead he waited two hours for an ambulance to take him to Warwick for monitoring.

Despite his praise for hospital staff, Mr Godfrey said the response time was too long.

"I could have been dead by the time it took to get me to Warwick if the snake had injected venom," he said.

A Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service spokeswoman said she was not able to comment on Mr Godfrey's case due to privacy reasons.

She said patients who go to Stanthorpe Hospital with a suspected snake bite were transferred to another facility because on-site pathology services needed to carry out specialised blood tests were limited.

BIT: Drew Godfrey was last week bitten by a juvenile eastern brown snake last week.

"Patients with suspected snake bites are closely monitored by clinical staff at Stanthorpe Hospital while awaiting transfer," she said.

"If a patient's condition deteriorates, a more urgent retrieval to another hospital can be arranged."

Mr Godfrey's experience has prompted a call for hospitals across the Southern Downs to be fitted with adequate resources to respond to snake bites.

"Any hospital should just be able to take care of a snake bite from start to finish," Mr Godfrey said.

"It is just not good enough," Mr Godfrey said.

"It took too long before I was getting treated properly for that type of snake bite."

He said the issue wasn't to do with the staff.

"They were great. The government just doesn't give them enough money," Mr Godfrey said.

NEW LOOK: The Stanthorpe Hospital's roofing project is now complete.

A quick call

Mr Godfrey caught his first venomous snake at twelve and has never been bitten in the 21 years since.

When he was struck by a tiny brown snake on Tuesday, he didn't feel a thing.

"I felt the snake hit my finger but I didn't feel pain," he said.

"I looked down and there were two little dots of blood. That was enough to go to the hospital," he said.

The lifelong snake-lover said he didn't want his unlucky experience to make other people scared of snakes.

"I would feel horrible knowing a snake gets chopped in half with a shovel because a person got when they heard a story about a someone getting bitten," he said.

Warwick Hospital senior medical officer Dr Chris Hegerty said anyone who expected they had been bitten by a snake should get medical help straight away.

"Seek medical attention as quickly as possible by contacting the Queensland Ambulance Service and getting to the nearest hospital or a doctor," Dr Hegerty said.

"The snake bite victim should be kept as immobile as possible to not pump the venom to the central circulatory system. This means they should be carried to a close-by vehicle for transport if possible."

Dr Hegerty also advised people not to wash the bite wound area because venom on the skin can be used to identify the snake.

He said it could help determine what sort of antivenin the patient should be given.

SAFETY FIRST: Southern Downs Snake Catcher Drew Godfrey doing what we does best.