Townsville Hospital left minus a heart surgeon after surgeon quits

In a month that has seen Queensland Health appear to lurch from crisis to crisis a public hospital in north Queensland which services a large area has been left without a working cardiac surgeon.

Cardiac surgeon Dr. Mo Diqer has withdrawn from the Townsville Hospital in north Queensland after being on call 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week for the past five months and says he can no longer continue to provide that level of support.

Dr. Diqer stepped in when the Townsville Hospital cardiac unit was closed last November amid claims that staff in-fighting was placing patient lives at risk; he offered his support to the public system.

At that time all of Townsville Hospital's cardio-thoracic surgeons were stood down by Queensland Health amid claims of 'difficult' staff relations.

Dr. Diqer is a heart surgeon with a private practice, based at the Mater Hospital and he initially agreed to take one to two elective cardio-thoracic surgery patients each week as well as provide cover for emergency cases.

Dr. Diqer says it is not safe to keep one person on continuous call for five months as it poses an unrealistic demand on a person's resources.

Queensland Health says they are now urgently seeking a temporary cardio-thoracic surgeon for Townsville Hospital.

The Townsville Health Service District is apparently trying to get support from Brisbane-based surgeons and the hospital management is also negotiating for the return of a former member of its cardio-thoracic team to provide the necessary support.

Health Minister Stephen Robertson says a replacement surgeon will be in place within the next 24 hours in order to ensure any disruptions to services is minimal.

According to Mr Robertson, Dr. Diqer had applied for the position of director of cardiac services for the northern area, but was unsuccessful but the successful candidate would soon be announced, and the unit was a step closer to reopening.

Mr Robertson says the doctor involved is of the highest quality and well known in his field and his appointment will be a massive boost for Townsville cardiac services.

While Dr. Diqer has been commended for his efforts by many for providing an excellent service critics say the events yet again demonstrate the failure of both Queensland Health and the State Government to manage another situation.