FLIGHTS to and from Mount Gambier have been put under the spotlight by the Mount Gambier Hospital’s Health Advisory Council.
HAC presiding member Maureen Klintberg has raised a number of concerns that have impacted medical specialists visiting the city.
The community advocate body yesterday revealed it planned to lodge a submission highlighting a raft of issues to the Senate inquiry into regional air travel – including cost of air travel and flight reliability for specialists as well as people travelling to metropolitan centres for appointments.
Ms Klintberg said the issue of pricing and disruption to local flight schedules was first brought to the council last year during discussions relating to attraction and retention of medical staff.
She revealed the HAC decided to lodge a submission following revelations the Senate had received only two submissions from the South East.
“Our key role will advocate on behalf of this community about issues relating to health and we believe the issues surrounding air services in the region do have implications for health outcomes for members of this community,” Ms Klintberg told The Border Watch yesterday.
“This is particularly for patients who need to travel to Adelaide or Melbourne for treatment.”
Ms Klintberg said a number of concerns had been raised with the HAC regarding flight delays and cancellations.
“Patients are unable to keep appointments in Adelaide resulting in possible delay of treatment and/or diagnosis,” she said.
Ms Klintberg explained Mount Gambier also relied on visiting locums and specialists.
“We have visiting specialists now choosing to fly in the night before consulting due to unreliability of flights,” she said.
“Disruption and high pricing of tickets causes difficulty for health professionals to access meetings, educational and training sessions in city areas.”
The high profile health advocate argued the cost of flights was also “prohibitive to many people in the community”.
“All the above affect the attraction and retention of staff,” she said.
“A reliable and affordable air service is essential to the South East region.”
Mount Gambier general practitioner Dr Richard Try – who is a member of the HAC – contributed to the HAC’s planned submission.
In his submission, he argued the importance of a good air service from Mount Gambier to Adelaide and Melbourne “could not be overstated”.
“We are situated almost equally between these two centres of medical excellence and having access to specialists and medical care in tertiary centres is essential,” Dr Try said.
“Many elderly patients with these conditions refuse to go to Adelaide as they just cannot face the journey or cannot afford it.
“They are already suffering from symptoms such as immobility, pain or lethargy and long road journeys are too difficult.”
Dr Try said bringing specialists to Mount Gambier would help alleviate this significant deficit in service and treatment.
“However, not all tests can be done here and specialists are less likely to come if they cannot fly in and fly out easily.”
Moreover, Dr Try claimed the cost of flights had “increased enormously” over the last 10 years.
“If a consultant sees what it will cost them to get to Mount Gambier and back, they are less likely to come and will instead stay in the city and earn the same amount with lower out of pocket costs,” the prominent doctor said.
“Recruitment and retention of rural specialists are another matter.
“If costs are paid by Country Health SA, for example, it eats into important funding for services.”
flDr Try said costs were not the only issue.
“Frequency of flights and timing can also affect the travel of Adelaide specialists to Mount Gambier or patients to them,” he said.
“There have been other examples of flights being cancelled and patients being stranded in Adelaide unless they hire a car to drive back.
“This not always the fault of the airline as weather is an important factor.”
However, passengers may still be stranded if no support is offered.
“While the weather is obviously beyond an airline’s control, decisions based on that weather could surely be made earlier to allow appropriate arrangements to be made,” he said.
Dr Try said a rural air service was more than just a business offering travel.
“They operate an essential service,” he said.
“They have an important role in connecting rural towns and communities to the city.
“The South East needs a rural air service for business, health and leisure.
“If the cost of flights continues to rise or if the level of service is reduced, a time can be seen when access to specialist care in Adelaide is out of reach of most patients.”
The HAC encourages members of the community to lodge submissions to the Senate inquiry.
People can also contact Ms Klintberg if they want to add to the HAC’s submission.
Regional Express – which has lodged its own submission to the Senate inquiry – declined to comment when contacted by The Border Watch.
