Concern at $1.2m cost for one patient

Amid the furore surrounding pending health cuts is the revelation that the Queensland government is paying $1.2 million dollars a year for care for a middle-aged woman at The Park mental health facility at Wacol, Queensland.

Returned to the facility in December last year by the Department of Communities, the woman was previously living in a unit under community care.

To deliver the high level of care required by this patient, two staff have to be rostered around the clock. The work is regularly carried out by nurses and careworkers working overtime or casual shifts. This means the government is paying a total of 10 full-time nurses’ wages for the care of one patient.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg is adamant that this was another example of waste inherited from the previous government, stating: “It really does raise the question about the most effective way of dealing with these sorts of issues”.

“This person should be out in some kind of community care environment,” he said.

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