Petition launched to save the Gympie Hospital paediatric ward from permanent closure
With Gympie region families now being forced to drive their sick and injured children 92km to a hospital that can take them in, the Gympie community is standing up and saying “no!”
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The Paediatric Unit at the Gympie Hospital is no longer taking care of sick children.
Exactly what it is now remains unclear.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath’s office is yet to acknowledge an inquiry on the fate of the children’s ward The Gympie Times sent more than a week ago.
The Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health District, which Gympie Hospital is part of, confirmed that any Gympie region children needing a paediatrician were being sent to Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
“Gympie Hospital continues to provide care to paediatric patients on site,” it said.
“The Women’s and Children’s directorate has oversight of this service along with all paediatric services across the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service region.
“This includes ensuring the availability of specialist paediatric clinical staff at Gympie to care for children.
“In addition to emergency department assessment and care, outpatient and targeted bed-based services are also provided for children at Gympie. Children requiring specialist paediatric care are transferred to Sunshine Coast University Hospital.”
Multiple parents have come forward to confirm their children had been sent to SCUH for hospitalisation.
Now an online petition on change.org “Gympie Needs to Keep our Paediatric Ward Open” has been launched, attracting 725 signatures in its first 16 hours.
“Gympie community, we need to come together as one and demand that the Gympie hospital paediatric ward not be closed down,” it says.
“The area that Gympie services are massive and it would be the biggest disservice to our region to be without the paediatric ward. PLEASE GET BEHIND THIS AND MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN!
“We need to get loud and make the people be heard. We need to keep the services we have at the Gympie Hospital.
“The last census data was 2015, so the data is outdated as Gympie has seen a substantial rise in residents with a lot of families moving to the area.
“Without a functioning paediatric ward, patients are being sent to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital some 92km away from Gympie.
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“So if you are a patient from outside of the Gympie CBD, such as Curra, you are 110km from SCUH. That distance to be away from family or support networks takes a massive toll on the family of an unwell child needing medical assistance.
“The impact on Gympie and families in the surrounding district could have severe impact on the health and wellbeing of children in the area. GYMPIE NEEDS A FULL-TIME PAEDIATRIC DOCTOR TO KEEP THE WARD OPEN, THE GYMPIE COMMUNITY NEED THIS SERVICE.”
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Originally published as Petition launched to save the Gympie Hospital paediatric ward from permanent closure
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