By Danielle Cronin Health Reporter
Work is on track to build a new $30 million Queanbeyan hospital and emergency department staff are preparing to risk blisters and physical exhaustion to do their part.
Member for Monaro Steve Whan, said yesterday that preliminary work had begun on the three-storey hospital that would "hugely boost" bed numbers from 37 to 60.
This would mean more elective surgery would be performed at Queanbeyan, which would help stem the flow of patients to the ACT and reduce workloads for Canberra and Calvary hospitals.
Administration staff would move out of the old building in about a month so it could be demolished to make way for the new hospital.
Staff from the Queanbeyan Hospital's emergency department will do their part tomorrow.
Three hospital staff and one paramedic will take part in the 42.4km Canberra marathon after five months of training.
One of the runners, Paul Green, said yesterday the team wanted to raise the profile of Queanbeyan Hospital's emergency department and staff who worked there. "We're also hoping to raise funds for small items requested by staff and patients," he said.
Meanwhile, another team of medics has taken complaints about the Goulburn Base Hospital directly to NSW Health Minister John Hatzistergos.
Member for Burrinjuck Katrina Hodgkinson, Dr Jarvis Hayman, Dr Kerrie MacDonald and pathologist Alistair Stewart met the minister recently.
The key concerns centred on ineffective use of operating theatres, cuts to funding, the need for more nursing staff and failure to replace one of three surgeons who retired more than six years ago.
Ms Hodgkinson said, "Local doctors are concerned at the excessive time it has taken to appoint a third surgeon, following the retirement of Dr Hayman.
"This has placed a significant strain on the two existing surgeons.
"We also expressed our concern that the practice of employing temporary agency nurses at a cost of up to $10,000 a week was a serious drain on the local health budget and that more effort should be put into recruiting nurses to fill vacant positions on a permanent basis."
A spokesman for Mr Hatzistergos said yesterday management was currently assessing applications from at least two surgeons interested in working at Goulburn Base Hospital.
"In the meantime, the area health service is contracting a locum surgeon to be on call," he said.
The minister had promised to provide a response to the delegation, plus overseas recruitment of doctors and nurses, and a review of surgical services and the implications for Goulburn.
In January, almost 4000 people were waiting for elective surgery at hospitals throughout the Greater Southern Area Health Service, encompassing the Monaro, South Coast and Southern Tablelands.
The Canberra Times
Saturday April 8 2006