Collinsville Hospital struggles to find second doctor

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The state Member for Burdekin says a rural north Queensland hospital has been without a second doctor for more than a year because no-one wants to work there.

The Mackay Health and Hospital Service said it had advertised unsuccessfully about four times for a second doctor at the Collinsville Hospital.

Dale Last said the lone permanent doctor there was under a lot of pressure.

“I know they’ve been trying to find a second doctor to come to Collinsville,” he said.

“They’re telling me that it’s proving extremely difficult to attract someone to go to Collinsville.

“I’ve asked a question on notice in the last sitting of Parliament of the Health Minster to intervene in this process and give a commitment to fill that second position.

“Quite often there’s been one doctor, certainly that doctor when he has to take time off they have to backfill with a locum or source another doctor to come and fill in but also you’d have to question the impact that’s having on the doctor that is there on his own.”

The Mackay hospital service said it was looking at a range of alternative workforce models to solve the problem.