Friday 30 May 2014 Katter pleads for dermatology visits to Mount Isa Mount Isa has now been a whole year without a visit from a dermatologist, and the Member for Mount Isa Robbie Katter said it is high time the Health Minister, Hon Lawrence Springborg reinstated funding for visiting dermatologists to Mount Isa. “Queensland Health stopped funding the Queensland Skin and Cancer Foundation/Queensland Institute of Dermatology (QSCF/QID) which was supported regional and rural visits by dermatologists and registrars in training in dermatology to Mount Isa,” Mr Katter said. “The last visit to Mount Isa was undertaken on 30 – 31 May 2013 by a dermatologist and two registrars; that is just on a year since any dermatologist has visited Mount Isa.” Mr Katter said since funding was cut last year, the Chairman and the Chief Operating Officer of QSCF/QID have both resigned, outraged at the cessation of funding. “Now we have lost both of these experts to the public health sector.” In addition, Mr Katter said he has just been advised that Cairns Hospital dermatologists have recently resigned because of the Queensland Health contract issues. “In a country that has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world; in a state where skin cancers and diseases are rife, we are losing experts because of the ham-fisted approach of this government to our health experts.” Telemedicine, while an excellent tool for rural and remote locations such as Mount Isa, would never fully replace “hands-on” consultation, Mr Katter said, adding he hoped Minister Springborg would not argue telemedicine as a justification for the withdrawal of funding. Mr Katter said he had been informed by a senior dermatologist that the skin cancers and diseases the consultants and registrars saw in Mount Isa were quite advanced, conditions they didn’t normally see in the city. “This tells me two things: 1) that there is a real problem out here in the Outback with skin diseases and cancers, and 2) this was an excellent training ground for dermatologists and dermatology trainees. “The loss of this funding has meant the loss of a full time registrar in training in dermatology, and the loss of dermatology visits to Mount Isa and for the sake of the skin health of people in my electorate, I am asking the Minister to reinstate that funding,” Mr Katter said.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 09:47:55 +0000
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