Medical community questions Toowoomba quarantine hub processes

Queensland medical experts have raised concerns about Toowoomba’s ability to deal with a major Covid outbreak, and have called for clarity around the new quarantine hub.

AMAQ President Dr. Chris Perry. (News Corp/Attila Csaszar)

A Queensland medical association has concerns about how the quarantine hub near Toowoomba will operate and manage Covid-positive patients.

AMA Queensland president professor Chris Perry said while the Toowoomba Hospital could manage Covid cases with proper resourcing, it would “struggle to deal with a major outbreak”.

“We can’t afford to outsource our quarantine issues to regional areas without providing those areas with adequate resources,” he said.

“Toowoomba Hospital is a very good facility and could manage Covid cases with the proper resourcing, but it is already at capacity and would struggle to deal with a major outbreak.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Wellcamp facility would have a separate area to deal with Covid-positive patients, similar to the process at Howard Springs in the Northern Territory.

Patients in a serious condition would be transported via road or air to Brisbane.

Prof Perry said the idea to fly Covid-positive patients from Toowoomba to Brisbane was risky and resource-intensive.

“Aeromedical retrieval magnifies the risk of spreading Covid to the health care workforce,” Prof Perry said.

“Helicopters have to be decontaminated and jet travel involves an extra ambulance trip from the airport, creating more potential for infection.”

AMA Council of Rural Doctors chair Dr Marco Giuseppin said he had concerns about where the workforce would come from.

“Regional areas already struggle at the best of times to attract suitably trained and experienced health workers,” Dr Giuseppin said.

“There is the potential to strip-mine the regional workforce by offering higher wages to doctors and nurses to work at the quarantine facility, luring them away from other vital regional work.

“Above all, local doctors should be at the centre of developing a quarantine program in a location like Toowoomba, as they have the expertise to address the needs of the community.”

Toowoomba mayor Paul Antonio said after the announcement that a quarantine hub in the region should provide more leverage to fast-track a new hospital.