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January 17, 2006
The emergency department in Queensland's Caboolture hospital on Brisbane's northern outskirts has been closed. The reason? A statewide doctor shortage.
Unsuprisingly, the Beattie state Labor government denied the closure up to the very end; then the Health Minister shifted the blame to his health department for providing him with incorrect information. Canberra is then blamed for the doctor shortages in the state. Where then is the Minister's responsibility in all of this?
Lethbridge
Closure of the hospital's emergency department spells tragedy for road accident victims and others requiring emergency treatment in the area. They have to be transported to other hospitals or flicked over to the local GP's. Crisis situations and newspaper headlines then give rise to stop-gap policy on the run.
It will happen again at another hospital across the state. The problem is systematic as the doctor shortage in the State’s hospitals are the culmination of many years of staffing difficulties, due to the failure of government (both Federal and State) to train, employ and retain doctors to support Queensland’s burgeoning population. So doctor numbers are simply too low to meet patient demand. Around 20 public hospitals in Queensland have been affected by shortages that have centred on emergency and maternity departments.
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My life has been destroyed by doctors who just don`t have enough integrity to do the right thing!Government departments that are mean`t to keep the system flowing ,do so by passing the complaints into the rubbish bin.The latest inquiry never had the terms of reference to cover the issues affecting most of the state.The smart state! I THINK NOT!!!