A lack of health services is still plaguing south west Queensland communities, including the towns of Quilpie, Mitchell and Mungindi, who have all been without a doctor for significant periods over the last 12 months.
Member for Warrego Ann Leahy said the towns of Quilpie and Mungindi had been left without a doctor for 100 and 99 days respectively, while Mitchell had also been left with only telehealth services for the last month.
Ms Leahy called an emergency health crisis meeting in Mitchell at the end of September that garnered a huge community response, an example of the level of concern that residents hold for their inconsistent health services.
"I just had people coming one after the other into the office about the issue and I said okay, let's just have a meeting," Ms Leahy said.
"I call the meeting with 48 hours notice and I was really amazed with the number of people who turned up; we put out 10 or 15 chairs and 75 people turned up.
"So, people are very concerned about the lack of doctors and what they can and can't get access to because of that. There's a there's a lack of knowledge in relation to what telehealth services are available and what services the hospitals can offer.
"We need to disseminate that information much better, which was one of the outcomes that was to happen from the meeting.
"I'm also in contact with David Littleproud in relation to what can be done in relation to lobbying the federal government on higher Medicare rebates in these smaller communities to attract doctors to come to these communities."
Australian Community Media has released a survey for readers to have their say on the challenges facing rural communities when accessing basic health services.
Survey entrants will go in the draw to win one of five $200 Eftpos cards.
Readers can access the Country Practice survey by scanning the QR code above or by following this link.
