Wednesday 26 March 2008

No doctors available for some North Coast medical rescue flights

Sometimes it's hard to keep a positive outlook on life in regional New South Wales.
Beautiful surroundings but often woeful levels of services the big metropolitan centres take for granted.
 
This week The Northern Star drew attention to the fact that the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue helicopter based at Lismore continues to experience difficulties in finding suitably qualified doctors to man its medical retrieval flights.
 
"THE future of Lismore's rescue helicopter is in peril because the city's hospital hasn't enough physicians qualified to work with the service, doctors have warned.
A leaked memo from Lismore Base Hospital emergency department director Dr Martin Chase warns the hospital no longer had enough doctors qualified to perform retrievals with the helicopter.
As a result 'there may be occasions over the next few months when the Lismore-based medical retrieval service will be unable to provide an urgent medical retrieval service', Dr Chase says in the memo, which was sent out last month."
 
Two little words for the Iemma Government and the North Coast Area Health Service - fix it!

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