David Crisafulli, Bryson Head, Ros Bates host Health crisis town hall in Biloela

Tales of residents left waiting for ambulances and specialist care shortages in have been laid bare as part of a health crisis town hall held in Central Queensland this week. Here’s what happened.

Just days after it was revealed Moura’s hospital was to be without a doctor for at least a week, health services in regional Queensland have again been put under the microscope.

Opposition leader David Crisafulli and opposition spokeswoman for health Ros Bates held a Health Crisis Town Hall in Biloela on Tuesday, where they listened to stories from locals about their experiences in the health system.

They were also joined by Callide candidate Bryson Head, who will run for the LNP in the by-election for Callide when current MP Colin Boyce steps down to run for Flynn in the upcoming Federal Election.

The town hall is the 12th the opposition has held in Queensland, previously hosting talks in areas such as Rockhampton, Mackay, Hervey Bay and Chinchilla.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli and Opposition Spokeswoman for Health Ros Bates hosted another Health Crisis Town Hall in Biloela on Tuesday.

“No matter where you live in Queensland you deserve a world class health system,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“It’s not acceptable when somebody, in a place like Biloela, can’t get access to a CT scanner, it’s not acceptable when an ambo doesn’t turn up because it’s ramped in Rockhampton.”

Mr Crisafulli said there were a number of options that had be been put “on the table” by people in regional communities on how to better the health system in regional areas.

“If they (the government) listen to Queenslanders, they’ll see there are solutions on the table and it involves re-empowering the front line, making the doctors, the nurses, the ambos, the allied health professionals - putting them back in charge of where the resources are spent and how they’re worked in local communities,” he said.

“It involves sharing data...it involves better resourcing so that beds are delivered on the frontline.”

Mr Head said as the candidate for Callide, he was committed to have a “red hot crack” at fixing regional health issues.

“In the past, regional Queensland had a health system that worked, you could go to your local hospital and have a baby and if you had minor health issues they were fixed on the spot there in town,” he said.

“These days you don’t have to go far to hear stories of failures.

A locum doctor has been secured for the Moura Hospital after its previous doctor resigned.

“I make this commitment to the people of Callide, that I’ll have a red hot crack at fixing these issues and making the regional health system work again.

“You shouldn’t cop it in Brisbane and you certainly shouldn’t cop it out here in regional Queensland.”

Ms Bates said no matter if you lived in “Biloela or Burleigh” people deserved the same health system everywhere.

“It’s not good enough that patients aren’t being seen within recommended times, it is not good enough they have to be put in an ambulance to go and have a CT scan done because there isn’t one here,” she said.

Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service acting chief executive John Burns said CQ Health continually reviewed healthcare services with the aim to bring care closer to home where “it is safe and sustainable to do so”.

“Biloela Hospital has an outstanding team delivering great care to the community,” he said.

“One of the foundations to providing services in rural areas is to work in partnership with other healthcare providers, both public and private, to ensure we maximise the provision of care closer to home.

“Some services, including CT scanning, require a certain level of demand to be viable for the specialist staff required to deliver them and to ensure they can be provided in a safe and sustainable manner.

“Radiology services in CQ Health are delivered by contract through a private medical provider and discussions will be held to consider options for the provision of CT scanning.”

After Moura was left without a doctor at its hospital for about a week, following the resignation of its previous doctor, Mr Burns said a locum doctor had been secured in the interim.

“We have secured a locum doctor for Moura Hospital, and recruitment is continuing with the intention of appointing permanent doctors for the hospital,” he said.

“Rural and regional areas across Australia have difficulties in attracting doctors.

“This is one of the main reasons for the establishment of the Regional Medical Pathway to provide options for locals to do their studies in our area and therefore be more likely to stay and work.”

Originally published as David Crisafulli, Bryson Head, Ros Bates host Health crisis town hall in Biloela