My family has faced repeated challenges accessing safe medical care in our region. On several occasions we have been turned away from our local hospital, even when urgent care was needed. Being told to travel long distances at night with a sick child or any unwell family member because our facility does not have the staff, paediatric support or basic medical resources is heartbreaking and terrifying. It leaves you feeling helpless and afraid in moments where help should be available.

 

Because of our locality, our emergency departments often become the first and only point of call for non life threatening emergencies. Rural families do not have access to after hours clinics, urgent care centres or easily reachable GPs. Many towns across our region have very limited GP availability, long wait times or no appointments for weeks. After hours, weekends and public holidays leave families with nowhere else to turn. This means our local ERs are relied upon for situations that would often be managed in a clinic in larger towns or cities. Not because people want to use the ER, but because our communities have no alternative.

For many people in our region, travel is not even possible. Some families do not have a reliable vehicle. Some rely on a single car that is needed for work. Others cannot drive long distances due to health issues, anxiety, disability or the demands of caring for young children. Many elderly residents live alone and have no one available to take them. Others simply cannot afford the cost of fuel or repeated long distance trips at a time when the cost of living is already overwhelming. Travel is not a simple solution and for many it is not a solution at all.

After I shared one of the experiences my family has had, countless people across Murgon, the South Burnett and the Gympie region reached out to tell me their stories. These stories involved children, adults and the elderly. Parents told me about infants and young children who came frighteningly close to death while waiting for care that was not available locally. Others told me that their elderly parents declined rapidly because they could not receive timely assessment or treatment. Some families bravely shared that they have lost loved ones in situations they believe could have been prevented if proper medical support had been available in our region.

These experiences all point to the same issue. Our rural facilities do not have the resources required to keep our families safe. We are facing shortages of medical staff, a lack of paediatric specialists, limited emergency capabilities and frequent shortages of essential medications and equipment. This crisis places our entire community at risk, not just children. It affects parents, working adults, carers, elderly residents, people with chronic illness and anyone who suddenly finds themselves in need of urgent care.

This is not about blaming staff. Our nurses, paramedics and remaining medical workers continue to carry the weight of an entire region despite being overwhelmed, overworked and under supported. They are doing everything they can in a system that has not given them the tools or the personnel they need. They deserve just as much protection and support as the families they care for.

No family should be turned away. No child should suffer unnecessarily. No adult should deteriorate while waiting for care. No elderly person should be forced to choose between staying home in pain or attempting a dangerous trip to a distant hospital. And no community should have to fear whether help will be available when someone they love becomes unwell.

This is why I am calling for urgent action to restore safe, accessible and reliable healthcare in our region. We need appropriate staffing, proper paediatric and adult care capacity and access to the essential equipment required to assess and treat patients safely. Our community deserves the same level of care and respect as any other part of Queensland.

Please stand with our community in demanding the health support our families need. We cannot afford any more preventable tragedies.