More ambulance staff and resources are on the way for the Sunshine Coast, but concerns remain about the future of dental, mental health and palliative care services.
The additional resources were confirmed during Queensland Government Budget Estimates hearings, with Noosa MP Sandy Bolton welcoming the investment.
During the Health, Environment and Innovation Committee Budget Estimates Hearing, Ms Bolton questioned Queensland Ambulance Service Commissioner Craig Emery, Sunshine Coast Health chief executive Peter Gillies and Minister for Health Tim Nicholls on issues raised by the local community.
Commissioner Emery confirmed nine additional staff had been allocated to the North Coast Regional Communications Centre, seven additional paramedics to Tewantin Ambulance Station, and two critical care paramedics to the northern Sunshine Coast.
A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson says the additional staff are already supporting frontline operations and helping build on response times in the Noosa community.
“We deliver an excellent level of care on the Sunshine Coast and we are investing in our frontline staff to maintain it,” they say.
The Sunshine Coast Wide Bay region will also receive 15 replacement ambulance vehicles and four additional new vehicles.
Ms Bolton says the extra resources will help address long-running concerns about ambulance demand and emergency response times across the region.
She also has raised concerns about the future of public dental services following plans to transition two public dental chairs from the Noosa Dental Clinic to Nambour.
A Sunshine Coast Health spokesperson says the changes are part of a broader review of public dental services, with the Noosa Dental Clinic remaining open during the transition before patients can access expanded services at Maroochydore or Nambour.
The hearing also examined mental health services, with Ms Bolton seeking clarification on whether additional long-stay mental health beds had been allocated for the Sunshine Coast through Mental Health Levy funding.
Sunshine Coast Health says the region’s 35-bed rehabilitation mental health unit is considered adequate, with new crisis support spaces also operating at Nambour General Hospital and Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
“A new crisis support space has opened at Nambour General Hospital, providing a calm, welcoming alternative to the Emergency Department for people experiencing a mental health crisis,” a spokesperson says.
“We are currently in the planning and development phase to build an eight-bed Mother and Baby Unit to support perinatal mental health for families on the Sunshine Coast.”
