A heavily pregnant Hannah Eddy was forced to drive an almost four-hour round trip to Townsville hospital each week to receive basic prenatal check-ups.
Key points:
- A 140-year-old hospital at Charters Towers is among those in need of urgent repair
- Residents claim Queensland Health is stripping them of access to basic standards of health care
- Investigations are underway into the conditions of facilities
That is despite her regional community of Charters Towers having a hospital of its own.
But at 140 years old, the deteriorating building is considered by local doctors to be one of the most outdated facilities in the country.
Its prenatal and birthing services are among many that have been incrementally stripped away over the years.
“We want a positive birth outcome, and the current model of care isn’t supporting that outcome by us having to travel to Townsville,” Ms Eddy said.
Her town of 12,000 is one of several regional and rural centres across Queensland that are crying out for basic hospital upgrades, with residents and doctors saying Queensland Health is denying communities access to bare-minimum care.
“We have been left behind for far too long,” Charters Towers general practitioner Dr Jean Convey said at a local forum held on the issue over the weekend.
Not fit for purpose
The community has been campaigning for years to build a new hospital, as the current heritage-listed facility is riddled with issues.
According to the Charters Towers Regional Council the existing facility has major layout limitations from plumbing and piping infrastructure, to poor fire and safety standards.
“We were petitioning for a new CT scanner and X-ray machine and couldn’t put a new one in because the floor couldn’t handle it,” Member for Traeger Robbie Katter said.
“We had a situation a year or two ago where maggots were falling from the ceiling.”
It is a similar story in the mining and agricultural hub of Cloncurry, in north-west Queensland.
Like Charters Towers, the community is an outback hub and dozens of surrounding towns rely on the critical services it provides.
Signs of decay on the building’s exterior reflect the condition of facilities inside, Cloncurry Shire mayor Greg Campbell said.
“Nurses take temperatures and talk to patients right at the front door in the middle of everyone else. So there’s very little privacy to tell the nurses what is wrong with you,” he said.
“There’s been serious concerns raised about the safety of the emergency room where nurses are forced to work in the hallway because the layout is not fit for purpose.”
Cr Campbell said residents did not feel safe inside the building.
He said urgent upgrades were needed for the emergency room as well as an immediate assessment of infection control. Compliance to safety standards on the distance of the emergency department to the X-ray facilities needed investigation.
“There is no way the Cloncurry hospital meets minimum standards and I would question if it was compliant,” long-term resident Sam Daniels said.
Residents say important rural centres forgotten
Residents in both communities expressed anger and frustration at a lack of response from Queensland Health despite years of campaigning.
“As a mining and agriculture hub, towns like Cloncurry contribute billions to the Australian economy, yet the state government fails to provide facilities that meet the most basic of expectations,” Cr Campbell said.
“You’re more likely to die of a preventable injury or illness in the bush than you are in the city. So the infrastructure for the people should be as good as we can possibly provide,” he said.
Mr Katter said state government spending on new infrastructure to accommodate the upcoming Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games had also stung regional communities coping with antiquated health facilities.
“It’s a bit hard to stomach when the government is spending $2 billion to $3 billion for the Gabba upgrade, but they can’t find $100 million or $200 million for a new hospital in Charters Towers.
Townsville Hospital and Health Service chair Tony Mooney told the community meeting in Charters Towers that an investigation into a business case for a future hospital had been initiated.
Meanwhile, the North West Hospital Health Service issued a statement to the ABC reiterating that the Cloncurry hospital was effectively resourced.
It said an independent condition assessment on the facility was underway.