CT scanner announced for Charters Towers in estimated $4.5m project

Charters Towers is set to receive a vital piece of medical equipment, which will mean people will no longer need to travel and can access the service locally.

Queensland health Minister Yvette D'Ath. Photo: Brendan Radke

Charters Towers is set to receive its first CT scanner, giving residents requiring medical imaging services the option to access the service locally.

Charters Towers residents requiring medical imaging services will have the option be able to access the service locally – with the city’s first CT scanner set to come to the town.

The Charters Towers Health Service will get the scanner with an initial investment of $2.25m provided to plan and develop a medical imaging service in the community.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath said the additional funding required to complete the project would be provided once the planning phase was complete.

She said it was expected the total investment would be around $4.5m.

The installation of the scanner means patients who live in Charters Towers and surrounds will not have to travel to Townsville for scans.

Queensland health Minister Yvette D'Ath in front of the Cairns Hospital. Photo: Brendan Radke

“Long travel can take a toll on people’s health, so it’s great patients needing diagnostic scans in North-West Queensland will be able to stay closer to home and their families,” Ms D’Ath said.

An investment of $750,000 would be used to plan the redevelopment of the facility which will house the scanner, with $1.5m earmarked for procuring the equipment.

Townsville Hospital and Health Service Board Chair Tony Mooney said the investment had followed advocacy from the community about the need for CT imaging, and others who had called for the “critical” service.

Katter’s Australian Party leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter said patients who lived within the large area covered by the Charters Towers Hospital Service often had to travel hundreds of kilometres just to get to Charters Towers.

He thanked Ms D’Ath for bringing the project to the North.

“Not only is this a great benefit to the Charters Towers region, but it’s going to go a long way in benefiting those seeking access to the Townsville Hospital and Health Service also,” Mr Katter said.

Member for Thuringowa Aaron Harper said he was excited to see how the CT scanner positively impacted residents’ lives when it was installed.

A completion date for the project has not yet been finalised.

Originally published as CT scanner announced for Charters Towers in estimated $4.5m project