Queensland Health Minister Lawrence Springborg has decided to roll out a program where nurses perform colonoscopies, sigmoidoscopies and upper endoscopies.
This decision is being taken after the Coalition have axed the national program.
Dr Alex Douglas, State Member for Gaven, says the Minister is endangering so many lives either through ignorance, a lack of duty of care or a mistaken belief that financial rationing will deliver better results.
Like everything this Minister touches, none of these decisions are being made in the patients’ better interests but in his own interest of being able to claim shorter waiting lists.
For patients with chronic disease, anxiety over this change of process will aggravate their condition. A mistake could jeopardise their lives.
The decision is wrong. These procedures are not minor operations and the Queensland public deserves the very best, highly trained, qualified insured people performing them.
Today, Dr Douglas calls on Health Minister Lawrence Springborg to immediately suspend these actions and look to managing the public waiting lists responsibly.