The petition of residents of the State of Queensland draws to the attention of the House that a lack of a dialysis machine in Charters Towers forces patients needing dialysis to attend this service in Townsville, 130 kms away.

Patients needing dialysis are not well and mostly elderly. The round trip by road takes about 3 hours. For patients who use walkers or need access to toilets, bus travel is not suitable. 

 Elderly patients who are not able to travel by bus have to find somebody to drive them to and from Townsville, sometimes necessitating a relative taking time off work to do so. 

Patients return exhausted and may have to return to Townsville up to three times each week.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to take immediate action to provide appropriate dialysis treatment in the public health system in Charters Towers, enabling all patients with dialysis needs to access this service without travelling gruelling distances.