Mrs FINOCCHIARO - 2014-10-29
Can you please update the Assembly on the success of the new medical imaging machine at Alice Springs Hospital?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is truly good news, not just for the government but the opposition too. A new MRI machine at Alice Springs Hospital – a magnetic resonance imaging machine at Alice Springs Hospital ...
Ms Walker: How about a new ED for Gove?
Mrs LAMBLEY: The member for Nhulunbuy seems to take exception to this good news, which is quite astounding. Central Australia has been waiting for this for many years; it is already changing the lives of Centralians.
I visited this new facility and inspected the MRI machine approximately a month ago. At that stage it had been operating for two months and had already seen 250 patients. That number, apparently, is up to 309, so people are flocking to this machine. People from Central Australia previously had to go to Adelaide or Darwin to access an MRI machine. This has saved people a lot of inconvenience, discomfort, anxiety and fear. People from Central Australia, particularly people from the bush, experience fear and terror at the thought of having to go to Darwin or Adelaide for any form of treatment. Having this machine based at Alice Springs Hospital, a facility all Centralians are familiar with, is a social convenience as well as a great leap forward in medical investigation and diagnosis.
The introduction of the MRI service has been made possible through the Department of Health and Dr Jones & Partners. We have had a long association with Dr Jones & Partners in Central Australia, and it has been providing our radiology service for many years. It is exciting to see more of these high technology services coming online in Central Australia.
In addition to the MRI we have the roll out of Telehealth through the sponsorship of Telstra. Unlike Labor, the Country Liberals’ government is committed to providing more services of this kind in the bush. A Darwin-centric former Labor government never really looked beyond Darwin. It is with great pleasure that this government provides the first MRI machine to Central Australia, improving the quality of life for those living there.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is truly good news, not just for the government but the opposition too. A new MRI machine at Alice Springs Hospital – a magnetic resonance imaging machine at Alice Springs Hospital ...
Ms Walker: How about a new ED for Gove?
Mrs LAMBLEY: The member for Nhulunbuy seems to take exception to this good news, which is quite astounding. Central Australia has been waiting for this for many years; it is already changing the lives of Centralians.
I visited this new facility and inspected the MRI machine approximately a month ago. At that stage it had been operating for two months and had already seen 250 patients. That number, apparently, is up to 309, so people are flocking to this machine. People from Central Australia previously had to go to Adelaide or Darwin to access an MRI machine. This has saved people a lot of inconvenience, discomfort, anxiety and fear. People from Central Australia, particularly people from the bush, experience fear and terror at the thought of having to go to Darwin or Adelaide for any form of treatment. Having this machine based at Alice Springs Hospital, a facility all Centralians are familiar with, is a social convenience as well as a great leap forward in medical investigation and diagnosis.
The introduction of the MRI service has been made possible through the Department of Health and Dr Jones & Partners. We have had a long association with Dr Jones & Partners in Central Australia, and it has been providing our radiology service for many years. It is exciting to see more of these high technology services coming online in Central Australia.
In addition to the MRI we have the roll out of Telehealth through the sponsorship of Telstra. Unlike Labor, the Country Liberals’ government is committed to providing more services of this kind in the bush. A Darwin-centric former Labor government never really looked beyond Darwin. It is with great pleasure that this government provides the first MRI machine to Central Australia, improving the quality of life for those living there.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016