Springborg: Cairns and Far North health case review to be made public

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THE findings from Queensland Health’s review into infectious disease management within the Far North will be made public.

The department is carrying out an investigation into three separate disease issues: The suspension of two doctors from Cairns Hospital; the handling of the hospital’s recent Ebola scare; and the management of tuberculosis in Torres Strait.

Two senior clinicians were stood down from the hospital after they criticised the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS) for its “bizarre” management of a suspected Ebola case last month

Cairns nurse Sue-Ellen Kovack, who had worked in West Africa with Ebola victims, was later cleared of the potentially fatal disease after being placed in isolation at Cairns Hospital.

She had developed a mild fever upon her return to Australia, one of the symptoms of Ebola, and was quarantined in the emergency department of the hospital. CHHHS launched an independent investigation into the cases.

Meanwhile, a separate review was launched into alleged discrepancies in the numbers of tuberculosis cases recorded in the Torres Strait.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg was in Cairns yesterday inspecting preparations for the new Positron Emission Tomography – Computed Tomography (PET-CT) scanner at Cairns Hospital.

He told reporters that an independent expert was leading the review into all three infectious disease issues within the Far North.

But he could give no indication as to when the review would be finalised.

“We do not cover things up like the previous government,’’ he said.

“If there is a real issue, we go in, we investigate it independently and then we let the community know what’s going on. The only information that could be withheld will be information that relates to private patient confidentiality and that will be a very small component, if any.

“The issues surrounding decision making and improvements will be matters that will be fully released, publicly.”

The $4.4 million PET-CT scanner at Cairns Hospital, which will be housed at the Liz Plummer Cancer Centre, is expected to be ready by June next year.

PET-CT scans can detect cancer in its early stages and assist in monitoring cancer treatment.

They can also be used to diagnose and assess heart and brain conditions.

The scanner, a first for the region, will allow more patients to be diagnosed locally rather than travelling to Townsville or Brisbane.

Source: Cairns Post