Ten Far North children are in the most urgent category to see the region’s only public pediatric cardiologist and are facing an average wait time of almost 15 days.

Cairns and Hinterland Hospital chief executive, Leena Singh, confirmed the specialist shortage and issued a statement saying patients were triaged based on urgency and clinical need.

But families in Cairns say delays in pediatric cardiology care could put children’s lives at risk — not just in clinics, butin emergency departments too.

One parent, Juliana O’Neill, said her son’s condition deteriorated while waiting for care.

Four-year-old Levi O’Neill from Edmonton requires critical ongoing support, but in February 2022, his heart began to fail while waiting in Cairns Hospital’s emergency department.

“Levi was having seizures from a hypoxic brain injury caused by a virus,” Ms O’Neill said.

She said that staff couldn’t reach the region’s only pediatric cardiologist, Dr Benjamin Reeves (pictured, inset), who currently services the Far North on his own.

Cairns mum Keely Gear, 23, and her partner Layton Hodges, said delays had also affected their two-year-old son Colton, who was born with complex congenital cardiac defects and underwent major heart surgery at five months old.

Mr Gear praised Dr Reeves’ dedication but said he was simply stretched too thin.

“Dr Reeves is an incredible doctor, he’s so committed, but he’s only one person,” she said.

Ms O’Neill agreed the region desperately needed another specialist.

“We were told to just wait. (Levi’s) oxygen saturations were dangerously low, and (staff) couldn’t reach Dr Reeves (at that time),” she said.

Ms O’Neill said she reached breaking point and demanded a Brisbane specialist be contacted.

“I’m not kidding, my son was turning blue,” she said.

“I finally told them, ‘If you don’t call Brisbane, I will’.”

That night, Levi and his mother were flown to Brisbane for care.

Ms O’Neill said another concern was ED staff were not trained to identify complex heart conditions.

“Right now, we’re just waiting and hoping something doesn’t go wrong,” she said.

“If Levi doesn’t get seen in time, it’s on us, not doctors, to pick up on the signs. That’s terrifying.”

A group of mothers is calling for urgent action on the 18-month wait times some children face to see Cairns’ sole public pediatric cardiologist, with others needing regular check-ups also facing delays of several months.

Dr Reeves, of Heart Rx Cardiology, divides his time between Cairns Hospital and outreach clinics across Cape York and the Torres Strait.

He is supported by the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.

In 2024, the service recorded nearly 700 pediatric cardiology appointments, highlighting both the demand and the strain on local resources.

“There’s a shortage of pediatric cardiologists in Australia, particularly in regional and rural areas,” Ms Singh said.

“Some cardiac conditions, especially in children, require highly specialised care, and in some cases patients are referred to Townsville or Brisbane hospitals.”

She said CHHHS also supported families through outreach clinics, virtual care, and subsidised travel when services weren’t available locally.

While families said they valued the outreach work Dr Reeves provided, they believed more local support was urgently needed,especially when he was away.

“The work he does in outreach is so important, but could a specialist be flown up here to take over his workload while he’s on outreach?” Ms O’Neill said.

“We’re left wondering if something happens again, will there be anyone here (in Cairns) who can help?”

Ms O’Neill also called for local access to foetal echocardiograms — a key diagnostic tool used during pregnancy to assess a baby’s heart.

She said she waited five weeks for an appointment in Townsville when she was pregnant with her second child.

“With my second child, we had a heart scare. We had to wait five weeks for a Townsville appointment as Dr Reeves can’t do foetal echocardiograms,” she said.

The hospital confirmed while basic monitoring was conducted in Cairns, highly specialised service were referred to Townsville or Brisbane.

“While some heart monitoring of unborn babies occurs at Cairns Hospital, foetal echocardiograms are a highly specialised service and so are referred to (other) hospitals,” the hospital spokeswoman said.

Ms Gear said delays had impacted Colton’s check-ups, too.

“If we had another pediatric cardiologist in Cairns, these delays might never happen,” Ms Gear said.

“(Something) needs to be done before there’s irreversible damage or something tragic happens.”

Colton requires regular, specialised care, but his most recent check-up was postponed. “Our appointment was delayed, and it’s terrifying, because Colton’s condition can deteriorate very quickly,” Ms Gear said.

emma.cam@news.com.au