Gerard Rennick (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

During the winter break I undertook a rural and regional listening tour of my home state of Queensland. While in Emerald, I had the pleasure of visiting one of the teams of Heart of Australia while they were operating out of the Emerald Showground and of seeing firsthand the capabilities of these trucks and the staff who operate them. I give special thanks to Maria Abrigo, medical aide and cardiac specialist, and truck driver Greg Hislock for taking time out of their busy schedule to show me what they do.

I would also like to acknowledge Dr Rolf Gomes, founder of this worthy organisation. Dr Gomes was driven to create what would become known as the Heart of Australia when he was a young trainee doctor on rural rotations and was struck by the lack of medical services available to people in the Queensland bush. Heart of Australia clinics travel more than 8,000 kilometres a month and deliver monthly specialist medical investigation and treatment clinics out of customised trucks to rural and regional Queensland, including Dalby, Goondiwindi, Stanthorpe, St George, Charleville, Roma, Emerald, Barcaldine, Longreach, Hughenden, Charters Towers, Moranbah, Cloncurry, Blackall and Quilpie. The Heart of Australia clinic is essentially a ground based Royal Flying Doctor Service for specialist services rather than emergency services.

The Heart of Australia mobile cardiology service has had a significant impact in reducing the severity and incidence of cardiovascular disease since 2014. Remote and very remote areas of Australia have heart disease hospitalisation and death rates 30 per cent higher than in major cities. Australians living in rural and regional remote locations often don't have access to the health services and professional care found in our major cities. Heart of Australia is breaking the tyranny of distance that denies rural and remote area Australians access to services when and where they are needed most. This includes training doctors and allied health professionals, offering work experience and professional development scholarships, and hiring staff locally wherever possible.

Heart of Australia quite literally offers life-saving services. These include cardiology consultations, general medicine consultations, gynaecology consultations, neurology consultations, geriatric consultations, stress echocardiograms, exercise stress testing, echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, Holter monitoring, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, sleep apnoea testing, CPAP trials, and sleep and respiratory specialty consultations.

I am pleased to note that, in January of this year, the federal Liberal-National government committed $12 million in funding to Heart of Australia. This crucial funding will support their two mobile specialist clinics and help provide a third service which will target Northern Queensland, including the cape, bringing the total number of communities serviced by Heart of Australia across Queensland from 16 to 25.

Back in October I attended, with my wife, the Heart of Australia gala ball. Dr Gomes gave a very moving speech, and with your indulgence I'll read a portion of that out to the chamber and into Hansard: 'A few weeks ago I met a patient for the first time in Hughenden. She smiled. We said hello. Then she leant over the table, burst into tears and said, "Do you think I might be depressed?" She said she thought she'd ask me because, in her own words, anyone who went to all this effort to build this truck must have a good heart. Ladies and gentlemen, in difficult times such as now, with the drought and floods and economic hardship, the Heart of Australia program does not just deliver a health service but also hope and compassion to many living in these communities. Simply knowing that there are people, companies and governments out there who have a good heart and who give a damn is comfort in itself. It brings us back to our basic humanity and love for our fellow human beings.

Having now spent five years on the road, we can boast a few statistics. With over 7,000 patients seen and perhaps 300 to 350 lives saved, it is reassuring to know that the program is not just bells and whistles and tokenistic fluff; the benefit is real, and the appreciation is undeniable. The words and phrases used by patients to describe the program are never beige. Patients don't say, "This is an interesting idea," or, "Can I see how this would have a role to play?" They say: "This is fantastic. This is amazing." The reality is that they absolutely love it.

The much-anticipated federal government funding will see the service expand from 16 to 25 towns across the state, the inclusion of mental health services and the incorporation of students into the program. Starting with three cardiologists in 2014, Heart of Australia now boast 23 participating specialists from a multitude of specialities, including neurology, gynaecology and urology to name a few. In fact, I recently saw a patient in Dalby who had seen a cardiologist, an endocrinologist and a gynaecologist, all through the Heart of Australia service.

I think we should be proud of what we have collectively achieved, but the most exciting times still lie ahead of us. There is still much work to do in Queensland, and, certainly, we intend to overdeliver on our commitment to the federal government. With the backing of federal government funding, we can now lift our gaze towards a national expansion. In the next five years, with government industry and our Indigenous brothers and sisters working side by side, we will transform Heart of Australia into an iconic bush institution, delivering health and a sustainable workplace across this great nation of ours. We will continue in the pioneering spirit of our ancestors and forefathers who built this country.'

Thanks to the federal government funding, Heart of Australia services will be expanded to nine new locations including Richmond, Weipa, Cooktown, Sarina, Palm Island, Biloela, Childers, Proserpine and Ayr. I'm proud to be part of a government that recognises that Australians living in rural and remote locations often don't have access to the health services and professional care found in our major cities. The federal government is doing its bit to help the bush. I commend and thank Dr Gomes and Heart of Australia for all they do in our rural regions. Thank you for this indulgence.