State Government asked to reconsider kidney transplant unit call

##MainPoints##

The State Government is being asked reconsider its decision to locate the North Queensland kidney transplant facility in Townsville, rather than Cairns.

Minister for Investment Cameron Dick and Health Minister Yvette D’Ath last week announced that the state’s second kidney transplant unit would be established at the Townsville Hospital following an expressions of interest period inviting all health services across Queensland to put forward proposals.

Local Labor MPs had been advocating for the unit to be based in Cairns given the Far North region has the highest number of kidney disease patients per capita than anywhere else in the state.

The choice of Townsville has since been met with outcry in the Cairns community, including from the Federal Liberal Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch.

##ArticleBannerAd##

"You’ve seen a monumental stuff-up when it comes to the decision making about the kidney transplant unit,” he said.

“To defer to Townsville when their own doctors are begging with them to have it in Cairns, it just beggars belief.

##PQ##

“Now I’m hoping there’s enough outcry within our local community to say this is just crap, it’s totally unacceptable.

“They need to reconsider it.”

The State Government said the decision was made by an independent panel, which considered Townsville the best option because its hospital is of tertiary level.

However, Cairns Mayor Bob Manning has also been vocal in his criticism, labelling the decision as ‘despicable’, ‘appalling’ and ‘political’.

“We were originally told that Cairns had been slated to get this unit, but then we were told that people from the State Government got involved who were in favour of it being in Townsville – it became political,” Cr Manning said.

“This to us was never about Cairns versus Townsville, this was always about our Indigenous people and giving them a fair go – and a fair go is for this facility to be in Cairns.

“This is possibly the most despicable act I have seen.”

Tropic Now requested a response from the Health Minister's office, which has so far gone unanswered.

However, Member for Barron River Craig Crawford said any reconsideration of the decision would have to be based on clinical evidence.

"The politicians didn’t make the decision, it’s been done by Queensland Health," he said.

"For there to be reconsideration, there would have to be a reason.

"That would have to be an evidence-based argument led by medical experts out of the Cairns Hospital because the battle would have to be fought on a clinical argument.

"I’m as disappointed as anyone but at the end of the day, we've got to leave these decisions to experts."

By the numbers

• Cairns has the highest number of patients on dialysis in regional Queensland
• The rate of growth of new patients requiring dialysis in Cairns is twice the national average
• In 2018/2019, there were 56 transplant referrals from Cairns
• In 2019, Cairns patients had nearly triple the transplants than Townsville patients