Moura Hospital without medical coverage as doctor positions left vacant

Patients from this regional Queensland community would be required to drive more than an hour to see a doctor after health services were unable to fill the vacant position of the only doctor in town. See how it came to this.

A Queensland hospital has been left without a doctor and a distressed community is without health coverage as failed recruitment attempts have left the solo position vacant.

The Moura Hospital, in the Banana Shire in the Central Queensland region, will be without a doctor for at least a week as the newly contracted medical officer cannot fulfil their duties owing to a medical emergency of their own.

The Moura community will be without medical coverage until at least Saturday, March 19, unless urgent and revisited attempts are made to recruit a locum doctor.

Debbie Elliott and Kris Jones were key community members who pushed for hospital facilities in Moura in 2016. Picture: Supplied

The previous doctor, who served in the community for six years, gave ample notice of his resignation to the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, but the hospital has been unable to fill the position.

As a result, that doctor voluntarily assisted patients on Monday to help respond to the demand created by the vacancy.

A CQHHS spokesman confirmed that contingency plans were now in place.

“The health service has activated a plan it developed to safely care for patients and for the management of accident and emergency patients,” the spokesman said.

Two years ago, the Moura community had access to a medical superintendent as well as a resident doctor, but as of today they have neither.

The Moura Hospital will be without a resident doctor until at least Saturday unless renewed efforts to recruit a locum doctor. Picture: Supplied

Moura Community Advisory Group chair, Debbie Elliott said it was unacceptable that residents would have to drive over an hour to Biloela to have in-person consultation.

“You have to put yourself in the shoes of the community here, they want to feel safe and cared for but you feel abandoned when told there won’t be a doctor,” Ms Elliott said.

“Hopefully something good will come from this, we are looking for new solutions in regional and remote places where there can be more flexibility for practitioners from larger communities to share the load without people here being disadvantaged.”

Patients would need to drive more than 60 minutes to Biloela to receive an in-person consultation. Picture: Andrew Thorpe

Callide MP Colin Boyce said the situation was reflective of a complex issue that could not be simply rectified by “throwing money at it”.

“The problem does not revolve around money, when there are vacant positions its because health professionals are looking to balance their work and their lifestyle and we need to do more to attract and retain people in regional and remote locations,” Mr Boyce said.

“We also need to focus on providing education and vocational opportunities in remote areas so people from our regional communities study and stay there,” he said.

Ms Elliott will present to a senate committee on the provision of GPs health services for rural Australia in Emerald on Thursday.

Originally published as Moura Hospital without medical coverage as doctor positions left vacant