Sleep apnoea clinic planned for site near new Toowoomba Hospital

A new overnight clinic designed to help people with a common health condition has been proposed for a site in Toowoomba.

A new sleep diagnostic clinic has been proposed for a residential home on Hogg Street in Rockville, not far from where the new Toowoomba Hospital is slated to be built.

A new overnight clinic to help people with serious sleep conditions like apnoea has been proposed for a residential home not far from the site of the new Toowoomba Hospital.

Applicant Jentah Dorothy Kennedy submitted plans for the clinic on Hogg Street at Rockville, just down the road from the expected site of the new Toowomba Hospital at Baillie Henderson.

The clinic will host up to four patients per night, with a specialist sleep technician monitoring their breathing.

In her application, Ms Kennedy wrote the new centre would take pressure off the public health demand for sleep studies.

“Sleep apnoea is a serious medical condition in which one can stop breathing repeatedly during sleep,” the application said.

“Considering the seriousness of sleep apnoea, along with the fact that a large percentage of the population remains undiagnosed and at risk, I am hopeful that you will be able to appreciate the need for community access to the proposed service.

“With the proposed service being operated in a private capacity, this will help alleviate the burden on current hospital wait times for sleep studies, allowing for faster detection and treatment/management of this debilitating condition.

“The clinic’s operating hours will be 7pm to 7am Monday to Friday. A maximum of four patients will be booked each night under the care of a sleep technician who monitors and attends to the patients during the night.”

Ms Kennedy said the development will have a low impact on the surrounding neighbourhood, which is predominantly residential.