A LOCAL woman with no connection to bowel conditions has dug into her bank account to find $47,000 for the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation’s endoscopy campaign.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she simply wanted to help expedite the purchase and get the equipment here as soon as possible.
“I saw that $75,000 was donated by one couple and I thought if I put in the rest of the money for the oesophageal manometry, they can get that equipment as soon as possible,” she said.
“I believe in giving a hand up, not a hand out. I know not everyone is in a position to donate, but every little bit does help and this may save the life of someone you know or love,” she said.
“It is important to me, that the hospital reaches tertiary status because it will then be funded differently and better, and I think everyone in Far North Queensland deserves that.”
Her donation, combined with the $75,000 from Leslie and Anne Mills, means the Foundation can buy the oesophageal manometry equipment.
The donation also means the Foundation has now raised $128,170 with $282,830 still to go.
Oesophageal manometry measures the function of the muscles and nerves of the food pipe. During these studies, a thin tube with sensors is passed through the nose down the oesophagus into the stomach. In some cases a “pill cam” is swallowed by the patient, takes images along the way and once it is expelled, clinicians can assess the images taken to determine where and what medical problems are occurring.
Cairns Hospital director of medicine Dr Peter Boyd said when the new equipment arrives, he believed this would be one of the few hospitals in Queensland offering this service.
“It means that residents from Cape York and the Torres Strait islands will be able to be diagnosed and treated in Cairns, instead of having to travel to Townsville or Brisbane,” Dr Boyd said.
“We’re actually already performing more procedures than Townsville by about 20 a week and we are doing that because we have a nurse endoscopist, we run two evening lists a week and we manage our own sedation,” he said.
“All our specialists are excellent in their field, but one in particular – Dr Mohd Khan, previously was a senior consultant in the top tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia – he really is an expert in the field of oesophageal manometry and we are incredibly lucky to have him here.”
When the equipment arrives, not only will Dr Khan be able to perform procedures, he will be able to teach the other specialist endoscopists how to diagnose and treat those conditions specific to the oesophagus.
Foundation chairman Dr Ken Chapman said for a relatively small investment, hundreds of people would be able to be diagnosed and treated locally, rather than having to travel to Brisbane.
“The team are asking for several key pieces of endoscopic equipment to help facilitate this work,” Dr Chapman said. “For a relatively small investment of $409, 000, almost overnight this unit will be lifted to tertiary level, which we need to happen across the hospital,” he said.
“They have some incredible clinicians here, including an oesophageal expert from Saudi Arabia, one of only five nurse endoscopists in the state and we want to give them the equipment to treat more people, more quickly,” he said.
The ‘Show us ya guts’ campaign has been headed by media organisations across the city, with ABC Far North presenter Kier Shorey, Cairns Post general manager Andy Reeves, 4CA presenters John MacKenzie and Murray Jones, and Star 102.7’s Dave Warner.
Vital stats
• Demand for endoscopy services in FNQ is increasing by at least 10pc a year
• More than 25 endoscopy procedures are performed at Cairns Hospital each day
• About 8200 endoscopic cases were dealt with throughout the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service in 2017-18 (CHHHS annual report)
• Demand is expected to increase to 8400 in the current financial year, with an extra 1000 cases each year after that (CHHHS annual report)
• About one in 23 people will be diagnosed with bowel cancer in their lifetime
• Bowel cancer is the second-most diagnosed cancer in FNQ for both men and women (after prostate and breast cancer)*
• 167 bowel cancer diagnoses in FNQ each year, 57 die each year*
*Source: Cancer Council Queensland 2007-2011
Photo: Dr Mohd Khan and Dr Peter Boyd discuss the new equipment with the second significant donor.
To donate visit www.fnqhf.org.au/endoscopy
