Val Bramble was recovering from major heart surgery and on blood thinners when she went outside to check the water in her tank.
The 84-year-old missed a step and fell face down, hitting the concrete.
“Within minutes the blood was everywhere pouring down my face,” she said.
“I hit the cement so hard. I thought this was the end, my last day on earth.
“It was no good calling to neighbours because they work and I’m on a quarter of an acre. After a few minutes I thought, I have to get myself off the tank.”
Eventually Val managed to get herself back to the house and called a local friend who is a nurse.
It was 4.45pm and the medical practice was closed, so her friend drove her to the Gold Coast Hospital where she waited for more than six hours in triage with, as she put it, “druggies calling out”, around her.
After finally having x-rays, she had to spend a sleepless night in hospital waiting for a review by the doctor the following morning.
Remarkably, her cheek bone and eye socket were not broken.
Val believes that if there’d been after hours services on the mountain it would have been far less traumatic for her. She is one of many residents calling for extended medical services.
Volunteer with Tamborine Mountain Community Care Association, Patricia Arora, has spearheaded a campaign to the State Government to address healthcare services here.
“It is a fervent appeal from seniors,” Patricia stated.
“Shutting a medical practice at 5pm doesn’t cut it.
“Week after week they tell me they must wait so long to see their doctor and then don’t know if they will see that one on the day.
“It is really playing on their mind and driving down the mountain takes its toll on their body.
“They are worried about the safety of driving down the mountain in the rain.”
Patricia said she met with State opposition leader David Crisafulli as well as State Member for Scenic Rim Jon Krause and presented them with letters from locals describing the need for services at the LNP Health Crisis meeting in Beaudesert in early 2023.
“When I started with them (Community Care) seven years ago it wasn’t as evident. Over the last three years I’ve noticed a steady decline in the GPs,” Patricia explained.
“Why can’t we manage our 8,000 people with the things that can be managed up here.”
Patricia said the region has a history of having a cottage hospital, with one in Canungra from 1937 until the end of the war.
She said a small five-bed facility would make a huge difference.
With a high and increasing, number of older people living on the Mountain the need for better medical services is set to grow.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures from 2021 show people over the age of 65 make up the highest number of residents; well above the state average.
While many have had to make the decision to move off the mountain to be closer to services, others, like Val Cleary, who has lived here for twenty years, are adamant this is their home.
The 90-year-old said she hears stories from others getting Community Care support who have to wait for help.
“It’s just not good enough. We need a lot more up here with the population now,” she said.
Val is currently having to pay $80 in transport in addition to $340 for an ultrasound at the Gold Coast because the local doctor who used to be able to do the cortisone injections has retired.
Eighty-one-year-old Rita Keeble also lives alone and a year ago was required to monitor her blood pressure for the day.
When her doctor contacted her for the results it was just before closing time and he told her to call an ambulance.
After a quick check at the hospital, she was told to go home, feeling like she’d wasted everyone’s time and having to call on a relative to bring her home.
“If we’d have had a doctor on call it would have saved the ambulance and everything,” she said.
Mr Krause said following his meeting with Patricia he looked into a “cottage” hospital model similar to the Bellinger River District Hospital in New South Wales.
“I also requested briefings from the Minister for Health and Queensland Health about other types of health facilities, aside from hospitals that already serve the region (Gold Coast University Hospital and Beaudesert Hospital). I did this to seek an insight into other facilities in Queensland, and how their model might be useful for better health services on Tamborine Mountain in the future,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I was denied briefings by both the relevant Health and Hospital Service and the Minister for Health did not reply, even when I indicated I was seeking information to inform possible future health facilities in Scenic Rim Electorate.”
Federal Member for Wright Scott Buchholz said the provision of a cottage hospital was the jurisdiction of the State Government.
“I am more than happy to work with Jon Krause and the community to find a solution and improve access to health services,” he added.
Patricia is calling on residents to write to Jon Krause.
