Central West Hospital and Health Board Chair Jane Williams said the health service had many achievements to celebrate during the 2023–2024 financial year.
The Central West HHS 2023–2024 annual report was tabled in Queensland Parliament on 18 September.
Ms Williams said it had been a year of successes and challenges.
“As with all rural health services across Queensland and Australia, workforce attraction, recruitment and retention remained amongst the most significant issues affecting the sustainable provision of quality health and aged care,’’ she said.
“In recognition of this, the past year has seen substantial and targeted investment in our staff and in recruitment.
“As a result, we were able to recruit eight new doctors to join the service in early 2024. “Among our recruits was a new Director of Medical Services, as well as a new Senior Medical Officer, at Blackall Hospital, both of which positions have been vacant and filled by locums for a number of years.
“Joining our new doctors were 24 new nurse graduates who joined us in August 2023 and February this year.
“Several of our new nurse graduates had family connections in the region, whilst others had undertaken student placements in the Central West while doing their degrees.
“We also provide placements for medical and allied health students,
“These student placements are an excellent way of introducing future clinicians to the benefits and advantages of working in rural practice.
“We have also taken significant steps towards creating our own homegrown workforce with the resumption of our school-based trainee program, which had been suspended during the pandemic.
“The year 11 and 12 students participating in the program are working towards certificates that will set them up for careers in health.’’
Ms Williams said two other milestones during 2023-2024 was the start of construction on two major projects – a new renal dialysis unit at Longreach Hospital, as well as major upgrades and expansions to the hospital pathology and pharmacy departments.
“We also continue to implement our First Nations Health Equity Strategy to address inequities in First Nations health outcomes,’’ she said.
“One of our key achievements for 2023-2024 was the launch of our community co-designed Health Check Days program.
“This comprises a multidisciplinary team working in partnership with local First Nations groups to deliver services in a community setting.
“Across our facilities, there has been a 10 per cent increase in the number of health checks and a nearly eight per cent increase in the number of First Nations peoples presenting as active patients, compared to the previous year.
“We also continue working to improve support for Central West residents living with a mental illness.
“People living with mental illness will often face stigmatisation and discrimination from friends, family, employers, and the wider community – and especially in rural areas.
“To address this sense of disadvantage and isolation, our health service refurbished a new purpose-built office and consultation space in Longreach for our growing Community Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs Service.
“This relocation helps to mainstream this community-based service, thereby increasing access and helping break down barriers and stigma associated with mental health.’’
Ms Williams said Central West HHS had performed well during 2023–2024 with 93 per cent of all patients presenting to emergency departments in the region being seen and either admitted to hospital or leaving within four hours of presentation – including 100 per cent of all Category 1 presentations being seen within the recommended timeframe of two minutes.
“This was well above the overall target of 80 per cent of all presentations to be able to depart the emergency department within four hours,’’ she said.
“Our median waiting time for treatment in our emergency departments during 2023–2024 was three minutes while our median waiting time for elective surgery was 137 days.’’
Ms Williams said as at 30 June 2024, the health service had recorded an operating surplus of about $3.96 million.
She said the operating surplus would be reinvested in capital and other projects which enhanced service capability.
“This is a good result for a small health service such as ours while facing the challenges of remoteness and isolation that we do in a vast area covering 23 per cent of Queensland, with an unwilling climate and harsh elements,’’ Ms Williams said.
The Central West Hospital and Health Service 2023–2024 annual report can be found at: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-assembly/tabled-papers/online-tabled-papers