Below is an excerpt from a report by HANNAH DAVIES, which appeared in the Brisbane "Sunday Mail" on March 11, 2007. Full report here
[Queensland] Health bosses are building a $30 million operating theatre at a Brisbane hospital, while existing theatres sit empty because of a lack of staff. Only last month, the Beattie Government talked of slashing elective surgery spending after a budget blowout. Theatres at Ipswich, Logan and Redland hospitals have been out of action for months because there are not enough staff.
But plans for a new theatre at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, which is next to Health Minister Stephen Robertson's electorate, are forging ahead. The project is part of a $95 million refurbishment promised for QEII during the election campaign. It will incorporate 30 beds and will open early next year, aiming to cut the number of patients waiting too long for operations.
The Australian Medical Association has criticised building new theatres when others sit idle. State president Zelle Hodge said: "It's like a scene from 'Yes Minister'. "You have to question why they are building a new theatre when we already have theatres in the same area not being used because of a lack of staff or beds."
Figures show more than 10,000 patients are waiting longer than is clinically desirable for elective surgery in public hospitals - almost 200 of those are classified as urgent. Meanwhile, an operating theatre at the Princess Alexandra Hospital has sat idle for the past four years - used only as a storeroom. It finally opened last month after a Sunday Mail report prompted Queensland Health to take action."
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