General News
20 November, 2024
New hospital for Normanton but dialysis service still not funded
The new Normanton hospital will have room for haemodialysis, but the service has yet to be funded.
A lifesaving service must be included in the new Normanton hospital to ensure there is equitable access to medical treatment across the North West, says Carpentaria Shire mayor Jack Bawden.
With the biggest health infrastructure build in living memory currently underway across the North West, the Normanton community has so far been left off the definitive list of locations set to receive kidney haemodialysis services.
This is despite a new $40 million hospital set to open in the town next year.
The current lack of a service in Normanton has forced multiple community members to relocate to Cairns or Townsville – and another local travels up to 40 hours each week on a cross-country bus – to receive the treatment at hospitals on the coast.
Neighbouring communities, such as Mornington Island and Doomadgee, have successfully had haemodialysis treatment included as part of their recent medical infrastructure upgrades.
Some in the Normanton community are now exploring whether to fundraise more than $50,000 to purchase a much-needed haemodialysis machine after state and federal governments have failed to recognise its importance to its local healthcare needs.
North West Hospital and Health Service chief executive Sean Birgan says the new Normanton hospital does include three chairs capable of hosting haemodialysis treatment.
However, at this stage, the new hospital will only be able to offer the less intensive peritoneal self-dialysis treatment, which is already available locally.
Mr Birgan told North West Weekly that funding for both haemodialysis machines and ongoing monies to provide accommodation for a small team of specialist nurses has not been forthcoming.
“It is part of the (Normanton) hospital design – so we are going to have the capability of connecting renal dialysis machine into the new hospital,” he said.
“We have been working very hard with the mayor (Jack) Bawden and councillor (Cherie) Schafer in Normanton – it has been presented to me very clearly the importance of expanding our renal dialysis program into Normanton – that is our next area of expansion.”
He said NWHHS was among a final list of eight projects that were under consideration for a round of federal government dialysis funding, but this money was not ongoing, which meant further funds would need to be sought from the state government to ensure nurse accommodation and travelling costs could be covered on an ongoing basis.
Normanton resident Cherie Schafer, who is also a Carpentaria Shire councillor, told North West Weekly she believed the community may need to spearhead its own initiatives, such as fundraising for a haemodialysis machine, to demonstrate to government the clear need and desire for the treatment locally.
Cr Jack Bawden said the lack of haemodialysis services had a broader impact on the Gulf community beyond medical treatment.
He said forcing people to relocate to Townsville or Cairns to receive treatment meant data collection – such as the national census, which is crucial to funding decisions – was inaccurate because people who had spent their entire lives in Normanton and wanted to remain in the community were not living in their preferred location.
“People fall off the radar of the policy makers in Canberra or Brisbane because they are no longer classed as being a member of the Normanton community,” he said.
“It makes it even harder to attract needed funding because data collected makes it look like we do not have a need for certain services.
“It paints an inaccurate picture – because people have relocated not by choice – they want to remain in their home community.
“The need for this haemodialysis service is as much about equitable access to medical treatment and public services as anything else.”
