Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the 2019 election, I made the election commitment that, if the coalition was elected, we would fund eight chemotherapy chairs at the Caboolture Hospital once the extensions were completed. As we were successful at that election, it was placed in the budget post the election by the then coalition government. That promise, I believe, will still be honoured, as it should be, as the funds have already been allocated. These chairs are critical for the Longman community, as residents requiring treatment now have to drive to either the Sunshine Coast or Brisbane, which means that people with cancer from the towns of Woodford or Bribie in my electorate of Longman have a two-hour return trip to receive the treatment they desperately deserve, which only adds to their high stress levels.

These chairs have still not been delivered and installed, as the much-awaited extension to the Caboolture Hospital has not yet been completed, so I am asking the Queensland state government to consider allocating one or two of the eight chairs to the satellite hospital on Bribie Island. This will be advantageous in two ways. Firstly, it will mean Bribie residents will not have to travel to Caboolture to receive treatment, which will alleviate the load on the Caboolture Hospital. Secondly, it will also assist when the traffic caused by an accident on the Bribie bridge or by congestion on Bribie Island Road causes delay in getting to Caboolture. This vital service needs to be spread amongst the electorate, and I implore the state government to make sure this happens.