May 6, 2015
The future of the South Burnett Private Hospital looks slightly brighter this week after talks between Mayor Wayne Kratzmann and hospital operator Pulse Health’s CEO Phillipa Blakey.
On Tuesday, the Mayor flew from Wellcamp Airport to Sydney for a personal discussion about the future of the hospital with Ms Blakey at Pulse Health’s Sydney headquarters.
Ms Blakey will be returning the visit next week.
The discussion was prompted by a recent admission from Pulse Health that the future of the private hospital was “under consideration” and the Kingaroy facility could close on June 30.
Today the Mayor said initial discussions had been fruitful and he was hopeful an arrangement could be worked out to keep the hospital open.
The Mayor believes the root cause of lower than optimal patient numbers at the hospital is a low awareness about what health services are available there.
“This is why we have some local doctors referring patients to Brisbane or Toowoomba when they could get the same services right here,” he said.
“I think we need to raise awareness about the types of specialist services available at the private hospital, and I think that can be done by arranging regular talks with local health professionals.”
The Mayor believes any marketing efforts for the hospital would need to be ongoing because of the high turnover of medical professionals in the region, but thinks this could be accomplished by a community group set up for the purpose.
He also warned that if the hospital closes, the facility is likely to be lost to the South Burnett forever.
Queensland Health had advised Council that if hospital was shut and later tried to re-open under another operator, changes in regulations would require extensive upgrades that would make it unviable.
Mayor Kratzmann also rejected criticism Council had spent $330,000 in this year’s Budget upgrading the building’s roof and carrying out other minor remediation works.
“We are spending $300,000 fixing the roof on the Murgon PCYC right now, and in next year’s Budget we’ll be spending about $330,000 fixing the roof of the Wondai Town Hall and admin block,” he said.
“On average, Council spends close to $3 million a year maintaining our Shire’s public buildings and facilities, and the private hospital’s building is just one of those.
“Ratepayers rightly expect us to look after our region’s assets, and we won’t back away from that duty.”
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