Yvette D’Ath responds to Gympie Hospital petitions

A Gympie woman fighting for better hospital services after travelling 100km for treatment of a fractured wrist has blasted the state’s response to her petitions as a “cop out”.

Gympie woman Helen Miguel has criticised Health Minister Yvette D'Ath's response to her petitions calling for improved services at Gympie Hospital.

A Gympie woman who launched two petitions calling for improved hospital services has labelled state health Minister Yvette D’Ath’s response to them as a “cop out”.

Helen Miguel, who launched two state parliament e-petitions and secured more than 6500 signatures which were tabled in August, said the Minister’s response was unsatisfactory.

She said it amounted to “nothing to see here”.

This belied hers and others ongoing experiences with the services.

“We still have issues with the hospital,” Ms Miguel said.

Helen Miguel has started the two e-petitions after the Gympie fracture clinic cancelled her appointment for her broken wrist and redirected her to the Sunshine Coast Hospital.

“I do know of others in a similar situation to me.”

Ms Miguel launched the petitions after she broke her wrist at a dog park and then had an appointment at Gympie Hospital shifted to the Sunshine Coast.

She wanted to ensure other residents were not forced to do the same.

“The latest closure of the fracture clinic highlights the systemic failure to deliver services at Gympie hospital,” the petitions said.

“It follows the attempted closure of the paediatric ward in 2021, ongoing issues with ambulance ramping, emergency department, and the contraction of services in obstetrics and gynaecology and orthopaedics.

“It is unacceptable to tell the sick and injured to travel more than 100km away for frontline services which should be available at a regional hospital.”

Ms D’Ath rejected the claims of a “systemic reduction of services” at Gympie Hospital in her official response in late September.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath denied there was a ‘systemic reduction of services’ at Gympie Hospital, saying workforce challenges had caused ‘intermittent disruptions’ and all services had resumed. Picture: John Gass

“There has not been a ‘systemic reduction of services’ at the Gympie Hospital,” Ms D’Ath said.

“Further, the expression ‘attempted closure’ in relation to the paediatric ward is inaccurate.”

There had been “intermittent disruptions” as a result of workforce problems, she said, which had affected the hospital's fracture, paediatric, gynaecological and obstetrics services.

Patients were diverted to a Sunshine Coast hospital as a result but “all services have resumed as of (September 29)”, she said.

Gympie MP Tony Perrett said a July town hall meeting in Gympie about the hospital’s health services suggested a different picture than what health Minister Yvette D’Ath had described in her response.

She said services at the hospital had been “maintained over the past five years” and some areas had been boosted including “the resumption of a 24-hour, 7-day service for paediatric inpatients from October 2021”, and expansion of mental health clinical coverage.

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Gympie MP Tony Perrett called Ms D’Ath’s response “political spin and diversion”.

“The latest response is not the experience that people have with Gympie Hospital,” Mr Perrett said.

He said a public town hall meeting about the hospital held in June suggested otherwise.

“No one finds out until services have been closed, reduced, or withdrawn,” Mr Perrett said.

“It takes public action to get services to get them reinstated – sometimes several months later and at a reduced level.

“That’s not intermittent.

“On every measure the problems have been there for years.”

Originally published as Yvette D’Ath responds to Gympie Hospital petitions