How Qld plans to tackle obesity, immunisation

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Mobile immunisation vans are part of the five-year strategy.

Mobile immunisation vans are part of the five-year strategy. Source: Supplied

FREE surgery for the morbidly obese and mobile immunisation vans that travel through communities with low vaccination rates are both part of the  Australian Medical Association Queensland’s latest five-year strategy.

Health Minister Cameron Dick said the Government was open to the proposal but federal funding cuts of $11.8 billion to hospitals would need to be addressed first.

To improve low vaccination rates, AMAQ president Shaun Rudd also proposed a service to ferry the unvaccinated to ­appointments.

“Whether you physically drive down and pick them up and take them to the doctor’s surgery or take them to a van, (we have to) do something just to get those numbers up,” Dr Rudd said.

A spokeswoman for Health Minister Cameron Dick said the Government was open to the issue but federal assistance would be required.

She said local health services were funded to implement immunisation initiatives, including nurses visiting indigenous communities in the Torres Strait and targeted outreach services on the Sunshine Coast.

“The provision of a medically run mobile outreach service would be a more expensive way of providing this service,” she said.

The weight-loss surgery plan would rack up a bill for taxpayers in the millions of dollars, with each surgery costing about $15,000, and Mr Dick’s spokeswoman stressed that it would be difficult to ­implement without federal par­ticipation.

Brisbane mum Yvette Kerr, 42, lost 30kg naturally before a $20,000 gastric sleeve surgery in 2012 that helped her lose another 40kg.

“I don’t think I could have lost this much weight without surgery,” Ms Kerr said.