Major Mossman hospital upgrade the focus of new petition
Shire health
A group of long-time health campaigners have started a petition calling for a range of upgrades to Mossman Hospital.
Led by Cooya Beach resident Penny Haberfeld, the petition, which was last week placed in a host of Douglas Shire cafes, chemists, libraries and doctors’ surgeries, is pushing for three main changes:
-Installing a CT scanner so more X-rays and other procedures can be done locally;
-The return of maternity services, and;
-Improved cancer treatment including introducing chemotherapy.
Ms Haberfeld told Newsport more than two million tourists visit Douglas Shire every year, so they and the about 13,000 locals deserve better hospital services.
Many are ferried to Cairns by ambulance if the cancer, birthing or X-ray services are not available, which costs up to $1000 per trip, she said.
“It’s expensive,” Ms Haberfeld said.
Before her husband died, he needed a CT scan, but was so sick that transporting him was problematic.
“He had to go to Cairns for a scan, then back in hospital he had a bad fall.”
Ms Haberfeld said she had been told many stories of people having issues trying to get to Cairns via ambulance or other methods.
They “have to get themselves there” much of the time, which was hard with the poor public-transport services in the region.
She said the current state of the Captain Cook Highway was also a major issue with travelling to Cairns, while the road to Mareeba Hospital was also often blocked by flooding and restricted by roadworks.
Captain Cook Highway is rated one of the most notorious roads in Queensland, with multiple injury-level crashes and deaths across the past 10 years, she said.
You can sign the petition at a range of locations including medical centres New Horizons For Health and Port Village, Port Douglas and Mossman libraries, Live Life pharmacies in Mossman and Port Douglas, and Whileaway and Temptations cafes.
