2023-11-03
Community members have called for the restoration of the Intensive Care Unit at Gladstone Hospital and an increase in the Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme at a public forum last night on the state of Gladstone’s health system.
The forum, attended by more than 40 community members, heard from local GP Gaston Boulanger about how and why Gladstone Hospital has been under-resourced for so long, while many community members shared their own health horror stories.
With the next Queensland state election only a year away, Gladstone-based Greens Senator Penny Allman-Payne, who organised the forum, outlined a plan to build community power to pressure Labor and the LNP to restore Gladstone Hospital services.
Comments attributable to Greens Senator Penny Allman-Payne:
“Gladstone is a major regional centre that generates billions of dollars for governments and corporations. And what do we get in return? Neglect from Labor and the LNP, sub-standard public services, and a hospital that functions as little more than a glorified triage service for Rockhampton and Brisbane.
“This is an industrial and manufacturing town. If there’s a major workplace accident that leaves multiple people in need of urgent medical attention, there is no way they can get the emergency care they need in Gladstone. That’s shameful.
“If we get our ICU back we have a safety net for our doctors, and it means specialists can come back and practice. That will attract other staff who will want to stay, and it means we can start building our hospital services back to where they were.
“Ahead of the next state election, Labor and the LNP need to hear loud and clear that the people of Gladstone are not going to be treated like second-class citizens anymore. To do that we need to create a grassroots campaign that builds community power and makes it impossible for whoever wins government to ignore this community any longer.
“The people of Gladstone deserve a better deal, and we’re going to help them get it."