Elective surgery to be outsourced to Queanbeyan

BearBuns said :

I was on the waiting list at TCH for an operation for nine months before my surgeon finally gave up and booked me into Queanbeyan where he had VMO rights. So off I went and had the op with no problems – and this was the old hospital. (Laughably just after my op there was a big spread in the CT that the particular operation I was having had only a three month wait.) If it wasn’t for Qbn hospital I would have waited over twelve months.

If they had told me when I was waiting six weeks for a cancer operation (apparently that was elective surgery too) that I could have gone to Qbn to have it done earlier I would have jumped at the chance. Frankly, when you are desperate for surgery you could not care less if it is done in a car park as long as it gets done.

I went to the new hospital when I ruptured the ligaments in my ankle. It is a very nice facility and seems to have all the bits and pieces one would require in a hospital.

I really hope I never have to use them again though as I am really over having bits cut out of me.

Shhhhh! Most Canberrans don’t know how good our hospital is!

I was on the waiting list at TCH for an operation for nine months before my surgeon finally gave up and booked me into Queanbeyan where he had VMO rights. So off I went and had the op with no problems – and this was the old hospital. (Laughably just after my op there was a big spread in the CT that the particular operation I was having had only a three month wait.) If it wasn’t for Qbn hospital I would have waited over twelve months.

If they had told me when I was waiting six weeks for a cancer operation (apparently that was elective surgery too) that I could have gone to Qbn to have it done earlier I would have jumped at the chance. Frankly, when you are desperate for surgery you could not care less if it is done in a car park as long as it gets done.

I went to the new hospital when I ruptured the ligaments in my ankle. It is a very nice facility and seems to have all the bits and pieces one would require in a hospital.

I really hope I never have to use them again though as I am really over having bits cut out of me.

Keijidosha said :

I recently had an elective proceedure performed and my surgeon chose QBN hospital. (I am an ACT resident). Notwithstanding the fact that my proceedure was rescheduled 3 times due to a lack of staff, it still saved me a 9-12 month wait in the ACT system.

Queanbeyan Hospital for many many years has just been used a nursing home for the elderly or a “break” for the Mental Health clients.
Most other medical issues were sent to WVH, which only increased the problems for the ACT.

I didn’t “miss” the point. I was replying to the person who said “”QBN got a hospital because it is in a marginal seat. So they build the hospital and there isnt enough demand to fill it,””
I was stating Queanbeyan ALWAYS had a hospital and long before ACT did and it had nothing to do with marginal seats.
MAYBE the rebuilt new hospital did, but not the old one.

Good that Queanbeyan has marginal seats and a new hospital. Saves us all going to ACT and using up the precious resources complained about so much.
Staff will come in time.
I had my first child in 1982 at the old Canberra Hospital because Queanbeyan Hospital at that time were NOT doing deliveries and there were no gynecologists in Queanbeyan. Things have been changing and it is good to see.

JustThinking said :

verbalkint said :

Here lies the problem with marginal electorates, QBN got a hospital because it is in a marginal seat.

Queanbeyan has had a hospital (same one mind you) since the 1840’s or 1860’s. They didn’t just build it due to marginal seats.

You seemed to have missed the point. The old QBN hospital was decrepid because it was unterutilised, and therefore underfunded. The new hospital was built because QBN is in a marginal seat. However if the logical thing had been done (demolish the old hospital and put more funding into the larger ACT system) then there would have been lynchings in Monaro Street.

The old Canberra Hospital was demolished because it too was old and decrepid. Centralising services to an improved WVH would have been a smart move IF the ACT Government could run a health system effectively.

I recently had an elective proceedure performed and my surgeon chose QBN hospital. (I am an ACT resident). Notwithstanding the fact that my proceedure was rescheduled 3 times due to a lack of staff, it still saved me a 9-12 month wait in the ACT system.

I heard John Hatzistergos explain why the new hospital in Queanbeyan was different to hospitals in similar sized towns in regional NSW.

He’s not some one I’d normally listen to however as the subject was local I listened.

His explanation was that as Canberra Hospital was nearby and as it had a much wider range of services than the usual regional NSW hospital that the regional need for the SE was extra beds rather than every bit of possible medical test equipment. Made sense to me.

If I needed surgery would I go to Queanbeyan Hospital [all local jokes aside]? Yes and with no more trepidation than I would on going to an ACT hospital for surgery.

verbalkint said :

Here lies the problem with marginal electorates, QBN got a hospital because it is in a marginal seat.

So they build the hospital and there isnt enough demand to fill it, rather than building it in the ACT where there is huge demand, and where people from QBN often have to go in order to have their more complex procedures completed.

Crazy system!

Queanbeyan has had a hospital (same one mind you) since the 1840’s or 1860’s. They didn’t just build it due to marginal seats.
They did improve/rebuild it and so they should. It is historical in the fact that before ACT was even thought of Queanbeyan hospital was providing services to the whole area (including what is now known as ACT)

Far enough not alot of big surgeries going on, as it has almost closed a few times due to the condition it was in. Being as old as it was and only ever having ‘touch ups’ done alot of it was falling to pieces. NOW it is rebuilt it is finally in a condition to start functioning as a hospital should.

Geeshus ACT already pulled down Canberra Hospital..IF you are in such a need why do it?

The problem is that local Member Steve Whan boasts about the newly built hospital but fails to mention that the $50 million dollar hospital had operating theatres working at only 20% of their capacity. Nor does he ever mention that Queanbeyan Hospital has the capacity to do 120 procedures a month but is presently doing only 24. Why, well because Mr Whan can’t secure funds for staffing or services. I know one specialist who has to threaten to withdraw his services to be paid on time.

Here lies the problem with marginal electorates, QBN got a hospital because it is in a marginal seat.

So they build the hospital and there isnt enough demand to fill it, rather than building it in the ACT where there is huge demand, and where people from QBN often have to go in order to have their more complex procedures completed.

Crazy system!

When we have to start looking at Queanbeyan to provide basic services such as health care it’s time to start worrying.