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Thank you for your support

We are making progress on ensuring Burdekin residents have 24/7 access to life-saving and life-changing CT scans but there is still work to do!

EVERY person in our community deserves the best possible health outcomes so I'm proud to support the Burdekin Community Advisory Network's efforts.

Our petition received a positive response from the Health Minister but the celebrations are on hold until the equipment is in place and patients are receiving their scans here in Burdekin.

As a community, we can't drop the ball because it could be our friends or our family members whose lives, or quality of life, depends on it!

How you can help...

Perhaps the best way you can help is to ensure members of our community know why this is so important. The information below is provided by the Burdekin Community Advisory Network and explains why this project is essential.

Please feel free to share this information and, again, thank you for supporting our community.

Further Information

Burdekin residents do not have access to a CT Scanner 24 hours a day, 7 days per week to enable quick diagnosis and targeted treatment.

The Burdekin’s only CT scanner is privately owned and available off-site during business hours Monday to Friday. After hours, and on weekends, patients requiring a CT scan are transferred to Townsville University Hospital (TUH) 88 km away which can delay diagnosis and treatment.

The transfer of a patient to TUH requires a Queensland Ambulance Services (QAS) vehicle, at least one Ambulance Officer and an on-duty Nurse from the Ayr Hospital which leaves the Burdekin community with reduced resources and diminished capacity for hours at a time.

Currently, after-hours transfers to TUH involve:

7-10 patients each week
Loss of over 105 nursing hours per month

This nursing time should be spent working at the Ayr Hospital for emergencies and patient care.

A return trip to Townsville can take the QAS vehicle between 4-5 hours. When a patient leaves Ayr Hospital in an ambulance for the TUH at 6 p.m., potentially, that QAS vehicle won’t return until 11 p.m. Some nights, the QAS vehicle goes back and forth the whole night.

This means that if the QAS vehicle is already en route transferring another patient to TUH, seriously injured patients may have to wait at the Ayr Hospital for 4-5 hours before they are placed in an ambulance to start the trip to Townsville before they join the queue at TUH for a CT scan, delaying potentially urgent treatment.

Even during business hours, when the private CT Scanner is available, patients still need to wait for a QAS vehicle for transport to and from the service.

What could 24/7 access to CT Scans mean to you or your family?

Here's some examples...

Example 1

Currently, if you present with signs of a stroke, the hospital arranges for Queensland Ambulance Service to transfer you to Townsville University Hospital.

There are two types of Stroke; one is a bleed, the other a clot. Each type requires a different type of treatment and wrong treatment can make the situation worse.

A CT Scan helps doctors diagnose which type of stroke you are suffering and the appropriate course of treatment.

With an onsite CT Scanner at Ayr Hospital, staff could quickly identify which type of stroke you had and begin treating you on-site.

Example 2

A child suffers an injury while playing sport and presents at the Ayr Hospital with neck pain.

Currently, the hospital can do an X-ray to assess the injury but a CT scan is preferred.

The child then needs to be transferred to Townsville University Hospital, a process that can take many hours and a process that adds even more stress for the child and their family.

With an onsite CT Scanner at the Ayr Hospital, treatment is underway more quickly and the stress of transferring the child to Townsville is avoided whilst ensuring the best health outcome.

The total cost of the project is $2.86m, which covers the price of a CT Scanner and improvements to hospital infrastructure.

Importantly, no additional staff will be required to operate the CT Scanner. Ayr Health Service currently employs one full-time radiographer and two casual radiographers (already CT-trained).

A CT Scanner at the Ayr hospital means Timely diagnosis = timely treatment = improved patient outcomes.