Fair Go campaign: Northern Territory patients wait two years for neurology appointments

THE Northern Territory’s only neurologist will move interstate next month, leaving a wait list of about 1000 people, some of whom have been waiting for more than two years

The NT’s only neurologist will move interstate next month. PICTURE: Thinkstock

THE Northern Territory’s only neurologist will move interstate next month, leaving a wait list of about 1000 people, some of whom have been waiting for more than two years.

The Department of Health confirmed Dr Jim Burrow was moving interstate soon for family reasons.

However he will continue to work at Royal Darwin Hospital in a part-time capacity, providing some services remotely or on a fly-in, fly-out basis.

A spokesman for the Top End Health Service said Dr Burrow had trained a local GP in neurology. The GP is not a specialist neurologist.

“Having general physicians trained in sub-speciality work such as neurology is common in remote regions of Australia,” the spokesman said.

“There have been efforts made over a number of years to attract other specialists to the Territory. But these efforts have so far been unsuccessful.

“RDH is continuing to advertise for suitably-qualified neurologists.”

The spokesman said wait time for neurology services was long in the NT because there was no private services to ease pressure on the public system. A Darwin woman who is still waiting on an appointment after being first referred to the neurology service in July last year — despite being hospitalised with seizures three times during that period — said the wait time was “utterly ridiculous”.

She said she had lost track of the number of times she had tried to call the service to find out when she could be seen, sometimes remaining on hold for more than half an hour without an answer.

“It’s utterly ridiculous I can be hospitalised three times for seizures and still be waiting to see the neurologist,” she said.

“It’s even more infuriating to have no communication from the hospital that he’s leaving next month, despite rumours for years. Is building a new hospital going to ease the pressure on RDH and attract more specialists or just create more of a shambles for paperwork to get lost in?”