Mother demands action as 250 children wait 300 days for heart care

A Far North Queensland mother whose daughter has a life-threatening heart condition has hit out at health officials over a six-month delay in addressing critical paediatric cardiology shortages.

A Far North Queensland mother whose daughter has a life-threatening heart condition has hit out at health officials over a six-month delay in addressing critical paediatric cardiology shortages. Picture: Brendan Radke

A mother of a child with a heart condition says the state government must deliver a second cardiologist for Far North Queensland immediately after the Cairns Hospital submitted its business case earlier this year.

Tegan Catalano’s four-year-old daughter Violet is among those struggling with limited access to specialist care.

Violet was born with a rare and life-threatening congenital heart condition and her complex recovery continues to require consistent monitoring.

“We have to wait for our kids to get really sick before they will get heart care because that’s all the system has capacity for,” Ms Catalano said.

Four-year-old Violet Catalano, who was born with a transition of the arteries in her heart, is pictured with her mother Tegan Catalano, father Adam Catalano and sister Marli Catalano, 2. Picture: Brendan Radke

More than 250 children are on the wait list for heart care, with wait times exceeding 300 days. Ten of those are in the most urgent category.

Currently, Dr Ben Reeves is the only paediatric cardiologist serving Cairns and remote communities across Cape York and Torres Strait.

Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service developed a business case to strengthen the region’s paediatric cardiology services in January, but six months later families are still waiting for action.

“That’s six months ago. Why is it still being ‘considered’ when kids are waiting nearly a year?” Ms Catalano said.

Cairns and Hinterland Hospital chief executive Leena Singh. Picture: Brian Cassey

The Cairns Post previously asked Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls if the government would support a fly-in-fly-out paediatric cardiologist to alleviate immediate wait times but did not hear back.

“There’s been no contact from him, or the hospital, just a business case sitting there, somewhere,” Ms Catalano said.

CHHHS chief executive Leena Singh said the hospital regularly reviewed its services to ensure it had enough resources to meet the community’s needs.

“As the only referral health service in the Far North, we face significant demands and must carefully balance funding and service requirements,” she said.

“In the third quarter of 2024, we identified paediatric cardiology as a service needing strengthening within our networked service model.

“A business case was submitted in early 2025 to address this need.”

Ms Singh said the hospital had been evaluating the resource requirements, which extend beyond hiring a single cardiologist, to ensure comprehensive support for the service.

“This work is being developed in alignment with the broader children’s health network to enhance care delivery,” she said.

Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls. Picture, John Gass

Under the current model, families requiring treatment unavailable in Cairns must travel to Townsville, Brisbane or Melbourne, adding financial and logistical burdens to their healthcare challenges.

HeartKids said the economic burden associated with childhood-onset heart disease was estimated to be about $2.292bn dollars per annum.

AMA president Dr Nick Yim said one heart doctor covering Far North Queensland was unsustainable. Picture: NewsWire/ Glenn Campbell

HeartKids chief officer Marcus Sandmann said the situation was dire.

The national charity joined the call this month, advocating for a fly-in fly-out specialist to help address the immediate backlog in Cairns.

Australian Medical Association Queensland has also supported the calls.

AMAQ president Nick Yim said one heart doctor covering Far North Queensland was unsustainable.

“We must ensure doctors’ workloads are manageable to retain these practitioners and keep their expertise in the public health system,” he said.

Originally published as Mother demands action as 250 children wait 300 days for heart care