Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / AMA NT President Doctor Robert Parker says a second entrance to Royal Darwin Hospital will ensure ambulances won’t be held up in emergencies

Transcript

AMA NT President Doctor Robert Parker says a second entrance to Royal Darwin Hospital will ensure ambulances won’t be held up in emergencies · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What we learned a little earlier in the week is
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: that work is set to begin later this year on
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: a second entrance to Royal Darwin Hospital as part of
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government's budget commitments. The announcement came just
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: days after yet another crash on Friday evening last week,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: which is understood to temporarily block two lanes to the hospital.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: It's not the first time that we've spoken about this
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: being an issue. In fact, if you've heard me interviewed
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: doctor Robert Parker from the AMA before, you'll know that
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: this is an issue that he has raised in the past.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: And doctor Parker joins me on the line right now.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you morning, Dr Parker. You and I
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: have spoken on a few occasions in fact about the
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: situation with there really only being one entrance to both
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: of our well both the private hospital and indeed the
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: public hospital.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Well, it's correct, and I mean it's a very I
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: mean it's a very large part of daw in the
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: hospital in terms of people working, and there's obviously, you know,
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: the transport issues every morning are ridiculous to a degree
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: where you know, every morning around from seven till nine
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: o'clock and in the afternoon. They's just a massive amount
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: of transport using a fairly small defined road into what
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: is one of the biggest employment areas in the Northern Territory.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: So it makes a lot of sense. I mean, the
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  Speaker 2: accident in December twenty twenty obviously raised the issue of
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: if there is a blockage, and I mean that photograph
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: I took for the NT News and cars backed up
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  Speaker 2: back down Rockland's Drive, and I mean that what I
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: didn't include with all the ambulances apparently caught up in
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: the traffic thing. So the ambulances are trying to get
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: to the hospital, but a block by that one issue
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  Speaker 2: with the road. So it seems both in terms of
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: you know, and obviously the Minister's got plans for the
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: dh campus and the future which will increase traffic flow,
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  Speaker 2: so it makes it makes good sense to have a
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  Speaker 2: second entrance, both for to probably improve traffic flow generally
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  Speaker 2: to the area as well as obviously for emergency to
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  Speaker 2: stop the one road blocking issues in an emergency.
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  Speaker 1: Dr Parker, how long do you reckon you've been calling
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: for this second entrance.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: Well, since we've been calling it for a few years.
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  Speaker 2: But the issue in twenty twenty really raised the issue
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  Speaker 2: to quite a significant level when it became absurd that,
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  Speaker 2: you know, one traffic issue blocks the entrance to our
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: major health resource in the northern territory.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: Can you talk me through you know, what happens at
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: those very critical times where there is a crash and
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: you know the roads are blocked up like that, if
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  Speaker 1: there are ambulances that have patients that need to get
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  Speaker 1: into the hospital quickly, well.
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  Speaker 2: Unfortunately the ambos I've got to just work to keep
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  Speaker 2: the patients stable till they can get through the blockage
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  Speaker 2: to the ED. So there's not much they can really
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  Speaker 2: do it. There's stuck in traffic, and so it's really
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: up to the to THEO said do a really great
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  Speaker 2: job to make sure that the patients are kept I mean,
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: we're very lucky in the territory. I mean, you know
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: if we were in Southern States, I mean we've got
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: this issue of ramping where quite often you'll get six
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: or seven ambulances ramped up to a hospital because a bedlock,
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  Speaker 2: and so the ambos are off the road keeping those
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: patients alive till they can get to the ED. Luckily,
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  Speaker 2: we don't have a significant issue with ramping in the territory.
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  Speaker 2: But the ambos up here, I think they're very good
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  Speaker 2: at doing their initial work to stabilize the patient, but
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: then obviously keeping the patients able doing transport.
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  Speaker 1: Have there been situations before where we have had ambulances
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: unable to get people into ED I'm aware.
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  Speaker 2: I think at certain points in previous web seasons when
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: that creek floods, vehicles haven't been able to access the hospital.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it's usually been when it's been incredibly wet
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: and the water has come to a very high level
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  Speaker 2: underneath that reach at the front of the front of
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: the hospital. Then I found the ambulances haven't been able
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: to access that road. So there had been but it's
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: been a rare occurrence. But I think the accident in
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  Speaker 2: twenty twenty just re really raised the issue of this
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  Speaker 2: is a very busy therapy now and we need to
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  Speaker 2: do differently.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, spot on. And do you have any idea or
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  Speaker 1: have they given you any sense of when this duplication
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: is expected to be complete.
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  Speaker 2: Well, at least they're starting with it, and obviously has
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: been money done. I mean it's interesting. I mean, there
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  Speaker 2: were following the issue I raised in twenty twenty that
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  Speaker 2: department did a reviewer. There were three options raised. One
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  Speaker 2: was from Lee Point Road, and I understand there are
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  Speaker 2: environmental and I suppose resident concerns about a brand new
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  Speaker 2: road being built from Lee Point Road. It makes sense
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  Speaker 2: to use the existing corridor, which everyone accepts is the
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  Speaker 2: road to all Down Hospital. And I mean one side
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  Speaker 2: of it doesn't have any residents at all, so that
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  Speaker 2: sort of reduces I suppose the impact on residents. So
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  Speaker 2: it does make sense to probably do it from Rocclan's Drive,
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  Speaker 2: probably doubt further west. I mean the engineers has got these.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: It's actually down west probably the more towards Manbaloo Present. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: right where the entrance is.
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  Speaker 1: And mister Parker, it is doctor Parker. It is part of,
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  Speaker 1: you know, a larger investment that the Northern Territory government
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  Speaker 1: announced earlier this week as part of the pre announcements
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  Speaker 1: ahead of the budget. They say that they're going to
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: be supporting health services across the territory with two billion
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  Speaker 1: dollars allocated in budget twenty twenty three. I'm not sure
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  Speaker 1: if you've had much of an opportunity to look through
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  Speaker 1: the announcement that they've made to see what sort of
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  Speaker 1: new in that announcement this year.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: Well, again we're are the major issues. I mean, I
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: know the health budget shoos are pretty much a significant
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: portion of the NT budget generally. I mean, we're very
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: happy with the new Morgue we've been put again that
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  Speaker 2: was we've been raising that for a number of years
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  Speaker 2: with the with the Anti government that the Roydale Hospital
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  Speaker 2: needs a new mork. I mean, a more usually isn't
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  Speaker 2: one of the sex your aspects of help development, but
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: the lack of a dignified area for people, for Aboriginal
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  Speaker 2: families to sort of mourn it was a major concern
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: for us, and obviously we need a more. So you know,
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  Speaker 2: the hospital looks after living. They also look to look
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  Speaker 2: after these individuals in a way too to make sure
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  Speaker 2: they're probably cared for. And it's really good to see
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  Speaker 2: that that that the department now is developing a more
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: that will fit modern modern forensic pathology practice. So that's
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: very happy. We're very happy with that. So, you know,
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  Speaker 2: there are some good things happening, but again, unfortunately healthy
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: is that bottomless back up. I mean, you can put
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: you can keep on putting more of money into other Obviously,
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  Speaker 2: the new War that they're playing to the two bed
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  Speaker 2: ward will help. It's not, you know, it's not the
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  Speaker 2: end solution itself. Developing more agecare bids, you know, to
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  Speaker 2: try and get individuals who need to be an hecare
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  Speaker 2: rather than the hospital is also a welcome development. So
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I was, I was, although it's not the
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  Speaker 2: perfect solution, and I mean there's never there's never any
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: perfect solution to health. You we shouldn't be letting the
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: good get in the way of the perfect, well and
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: you know.
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  Speaker 1: This is the thing, It's something you and I again
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  Speaker 1: have discussed on numerous occasions that bed you know, the
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: lack of beds at different times, that are overcrowding at
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: different times, and that real strain on staff at the hospital,
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: who are absolutely incredible, you know, right from the people
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: that are cleaning and catering all the way to the doctors,
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: the nurses, those healthcare staff. Everybody does a phenomenal job
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: under what can be really difficult circumstances. And we know
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: that we really have had a shortage of beds for
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: some time, haven't we.
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: Well's right, I mean, And obviously the hospital was built
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  Speaker 2: for a population where you know, in the design for
• 7:46
  Speaker 2: a darn population. Fifty years ago, you know, we had
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: pretty much half the population we've got now. And I
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: mean Palmerston has healthcare degree. But really, I mean the
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: minister is quite correct. We need to really look at
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: the future. I mean RBH is an old hospital building
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: designed for a population, you know, fifty years of populations
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  Speaker 2: like fifty years ago. We're ready to look for the future,
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: to have an adequate hospital capacity for modern and future.
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  Speaker 1: The well doctor Robert Parker, the head of the AMA
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  Speaker 1: here in the Northern Territory. We always appreciate your time.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much for having a chat with us today.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: Good to talk to you as always, Cody, thank you,