Letter Sent to Premier and Health Minister of Tasmania: On behalf of the population of St Helens, Tasmania, I wish to advise you of the current situation of medical care to the population of St Helens and its environs. There are no permanent full or part time medical practitioners in the Medical Centre at St Helens. How can individuals have continuity of health care when they see a different locum each time they visit the Medical Centre? Not only that when one makes an appointment to see a locum in 4 weeks time, one is later informed that that locum will not be coming to St Helens and you have to take another appointment at another time and day to see another locum. St Helens has an aging population of local residents and also attracts retirees from the big island who come to the St Helens area for the lifestyle offered. It follows that this older population will be more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and such individuals will have special needs, namely, early diagnosis through supportive blood tests and detection of the cancer and referral to an appropriate Specialist. Individuals following cancer surgery have to tell their medical history each time they see a new doctor each visit. It is inevitable that follow-up blood tests and Cat Scans will be missed resulting in missed early diagnoses of recurrences. The population of St Helens needs to band together and fight for better health services and the current system can no longer be tolerated. I do not intend to stop writing these letters to whoever will listen until something is done. I have already been interviewed by the ABC Hobart about an earlier letter published in the Mercury on this issue. If necessary I will organise a community forum here in St Helens to demand better health services. Dr Caroline Wright (retired nurse) and cancer survivor (so far).
Posted on: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 10:08:54 +0000