Question - ACT Health

1. In the last year, have patients presenting at hospitals in the ACT been referred to Queanbeyan Hospital and Health Service; if so, (a) how many, (b) for what conditions and (c) why have they not been treated at Canberra hospitals.
2. Do patients referred to Queanbeyan Hospital and Health Service have any entitlement to transport to convey them there.

(1) Patients presenting to ACT Emergency Departments are not referred to Queanbeyan Hospital for assessment or emergency care. NSW residents treated in an ACT hospital may be referred to a service in Queanbeyan on discharge for ongoing care, closer to their home (e.g. community nursing). Canberra Health Services (CHS) also has agreements in place with other hospitals in the ACT and surrounding region to undertake some procedures, including Queanbeyan District Hospital. These arrangements are in place to ensure ACT residents can access planned procedures in as timely a way as possible and have been even more important following the fire in then Calvary Public Hospital’s theatre complex in December 2022.

In the current financial year (to 4 April 2024), 470 ACT and NSW residents who have been waiting for Gastroenterology procedures at Canberra Hospital have been transferred to Southern NSW Local Health District (SNSWLHD) for their procedure. ACT residents have been referred to Queanbeyan District Hospital, while NSW residents have had their procedure at a facility close to home. These procedures are limited to gastroscopy and colonoscopy for various conditions and diagnostic purposes.  Gastroenterology procedures also continue to be undertaken at both Canberra Hospital and North Canberra Hospital. 

(2) Canberra Health Services does not routinely offer transport or subsidies to patients who are scheduled for surgery at Queanbeyan Hospital. The Interstate Patient Travel Assistance Scheme (IPTAS) is available to ACT residents who need assistance when travelling distances of over 100kms for health treatment that is not available in the ACT. This does not apply to Queanbeyan due to its close proximity to the ACT.