Gladstone health services slammed

THE Capricornia representative for the Australian Medical Association Queensland, Dr Kim Bulwinkel, has slammed the level of health services available in the Gladstone region.

Dr Bulwinkel said “the current report card is all crosses”.

He said there was a lack of “common sense, practical sense or strategic sense” in planning health services for the Central Queensland region.

“I just can’t believe how short of any good sense or planning the health service development is. And the main feature that has to be right up the top of the list of the health service planning, is the population that you’re servicing,” he said.

“Think of the needs of the population you’re servicing, and also because there’s such a long lag time with the development of health infrastructure. You’ve always got to be thinking about what you need now, and what you’re going to be using in 10 years time.” Projections by the Queensland Department of Infrastructure and Planning predict Gladstone’s population to be between 68,470 and 75,430 by the year 2016.

Dr Bulwinkel said the hospital had “gone backwards.”

“And Gladstone, all I’ve seen, is service go backwards. It used to be well planned, but the population has gone up hugely and the facilities that were already here have been downgraded. That makes no sense.”

“Gladstone hospital now behaves more and more like a triage facility once again relying heavily on transfers to Brisbane and Rockhampton to deal with its patient load. It struggles to maintain critical masses of essential clinical staff, has no plans for any service restoration to its previous levels of capability, let alone any increase in service capability.”

Dr Bulwinkel said in 2009 the Gladstone hospital “has about 35 beds open, barely utilises its operating theatre capabilities and has been at risk of losing its maternity services.”

He called for a return to the size the hospital was when it opened.

“What happens is the 100-bed, two-theatre capability of the Gladstone Base Hospital has to be restored immediately. That means a significant increase in budget and a change in attitude of the health bureaucracy, not the medicos and not even the politicians themselves.”

“The health bureaucracy has to make some sensible decisions. That’s just to deal with the Gladstone services now. But at the same time, they have to realise that the Gladstone facilities are going to be dealing with 70,000 people. The facility, and the plans for the increase in the size of the facility has to be happening now, and there isn’t.”

“The public hospital is always in the media for how it’s not able to do the job. That’s okay, accept the fact that it’s been downgraded. But let’s have a plan to fix it up. Find someone who wants to take responsibility for that plan, whether it be state or federal. In Gladstone we’re sitting on one of the biggest areas of future economic growth in the state. People need their health care.”

Queensland Health were unable to respond to Dr Bulwinkel’s comments on Friday and are expected to respond today. See The Observer tomorrow for the full response.