Member for Burdekin Dale Last has called on the Health Minister to quell fears a CT scanner for the Ayr Hospital will become a political football after Labor failed to commit to the project in the 2024/2025 State Budget.

Almost a year since residents rallied to call for a CT scanner at the Ayr Hospital, Mr Last said the thousands of people who put pen to paper deserved better than being used as a political football ahead of the October state election.

“My understanding is that providing the Ayr Hospital with a CT scanner is a priority project for the health service, yet we saw no mention of the project in the 2024/2025 State budget and since then another CT scanner has been promised to another hospital in the same health service,” Mr Last said.

“This project is a no-brainer with the lack of a CT scanner placing additional pressure on our emergency services and hospital staff who are left transporting patients to Townsville for medical imaging and treatment.”

Mr Last said the fact there was no commitment in the state budget and no mention of the project in the days following was sending a clear message to emergency staff and patients who faced a five hour round trip for a CT scan.

“I was proud to support community efforts last year as we advocated for better health outcomes in our region and you would think that effort would have been rewarded by this government in the budget but we saw nothing,” Mr Last said.

“The15 people a week on average being transferred to Townsville for an after hours CT scan deserve better and I am not about to sit back and let our hardworking emergency staff and patients be the victims of a vote-buying campaign.”

“The lack of commitment from this Labor government sends a clear message to this community that they are more interested in ensuring people in the south east can catch a 50c train than ensuring people in the Burdekin who desperately need a CT scan aren’t faced with a five-hour round trip.”