Editorial: Unused donations betray patients and donors alike

In yet another Queensland Health failure, much-needed electronics paid for by donations have been left unused, writes the editor.

When everyday Australians reach into their pocket to donate to a good cause, they reasonably expect their hard earned money will be used for what was promised.

So the revelation that $80,000 worth of televisions and iPads earmarked for spinal injury patients have sat collecting dust in a storage unit is beyond disappointing.

In yet another Queensland Health failure, the much-needed electronics have been left unused with no installation date in sight due to “technical” delays.

Even the iPads, which don’t need installation, are locked away from patients.

Former Wallabies coach John Connolly organised the fundraiser after spending nine months in the Princess Alexandra Hospital’s spinal unit when he broke his neck in 2021.

During his stay, he said the old televisions in patient rooms would regularly break.

He said patients were also asked to pay $5 to $10 a day to use them – a costly exercise with many spending months in hospital with little else to do.

Through the generosity of the community, Mr Connolly was able to fundraise $80,000 to purchase 90 new iPads and televisions for the ward.

But 12 months after the donation, they are still yet to be installed.

“Nothing surprises me but I thought it would be a very simple process. It’s pretty disappointing,” Mr Connolly said of the failure.

It’s a disappointing blow not only to Mr Connolly and all those who dug deep, but to all of the spinal and mental health patients who would have benefited from their generosity. Surely 12 months is enough time to formulate and implement an installation plan for these devices.

Any service that might improve the lives of patients dealing with catastrophic and life-altering injuries should be a priority for Queensland Health.

One can only imagine the negative mental health impacts of being confined to a bed, unable to move and with no entertainment.

The revelation of the abandoned donations comes just days after The Courier-Mail revealed allegations of shocking treatment of patients at the same hospital unit.

Whistleblowers spoke out with concerns about the safety of patients and the perceived lack of respect for their dignity.

Dinesh Palipana, 2021 Queenslander of the Year and an emergency doctor, spoke out about conditions at the spinal unit that he experienced himself as a patient in 2010.

“It is a professional risk for me to share my thoughts but I continue to be contacted by people over the years who have gone through difficult situations in the Spinal Injury Unit,” Dr Palipana said on Saturday.

“For that reason, I feel that I must share these thoughts regardless, so that people with spinal cord injury can have a better experience in the future.”

When contacted by The Courier-Mail, Princess Alexandra Hospital executive director Jeremy Wellwood said “we are unaware of these specific patient care concerns and the hospital is investigating them as a matter of urgency”.

For the sake of the patients, these improvements cannot come soon enough.

WANDING PROVES SCOPE OF KNIFE CURSE

The results of “wanding” operations by police over the weekend are alarming.

Sure, potentially deadly weapons – mainly knives – were confiscated and we are all a little safer for that reason.

But some of the figures provided by police are shocking.

In one operation, 530 people were scanned and eight weapons were found.

In another, 450 people were checked and seven weapons were discovered.

Most worryingly, in a two-day operation at Ipswich train stations, 35 people were wanded and three knives, a machete and knuckledusters were seized.

Five people out of 35 had a weapon of some sort. This is one in seven, and it is truly terrifying.

Even worse, at Redbank train station last Wednesday, four out of 18 people were armed.

It is clear that despite multiple cases of late-night altercations turning deadly in an instant, many young men and boys still feel the need to carry a knife.

How many young lives have been destroyed because of that stupid macho act. And not only the victims.

The message is not getting in. So if that means that police have to regularly scan young people at our entertainment precincts, and on public transport, then so be it.

Maybe after they have been caught, and charged a few times, the message might finally get into their thick heads.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here

Originally published as Editorial: Unused donations betray patients and donors alike