Planned care appointments to resume at TUH

Planned care appointments to resume at TUH Planned care appointments, including scheduled surgeries and procedures, will resume at Townsville University Hospital (TUH) tomorrow (Wednesday, 5 February).

Townsville Hospital and Health Service (HHS) chief executive Kieran Keyes thanked the community for its understanding over the past few days.

“Following weather advice from the Bureau of Meteorology and the Townsville Local Disaster Management Group, we will begin seeing patients scheduled for appointments from Wednesday, 5 February 2025,” Mr Keyes said.

“This will include cases that require admissions like endoscopes, colonoscopies, and general surgeries.

“Patients who had their appointments postponed will be rescheduled as soon as possible.

“Patients with a planned care appointment scheduled on and after 5 February 2025 can attend their appointment if it is safe to travel to and from TUH.”

Mr Keyes said the Townsville HHS had also focused on responding to the situation in Ingham.

“The area has been among the hardest hit from the weather event and the staff at the Ingham Health Service have been doing a great job caring for people who have presented there,” he said.

“We are currently working with several agencies, including the Australian Defence Force and Retrieval Services Queensland, to get high-risk patients to Townsville and more staff into Ingham.

“Palm Island has also been impacted by the weather event and we have sent additional support staff and supplies for the Joyce Palmer Health Service today.

“As the water subsides over the coming days we anticipate the demand for our services to increase and we are currently planning how to meet the expected demand.”

Mr Keyes urged the community to continue listening to the advice, including staying out of flood water.

“While our emergency department has been busy, we have not seen a significant rise in flood-or-water-related injury or illness which means people are listening to advice from authorities, including public health,” he said.

“I again urge people to stay out of flood water. You don’t know what is in the water and it can contain harmful bacteria.

“I encourage everyone to take advice from their local disaster management group about the current weather event and to watch out for health updates on the Townsville HHS social media pages and website.”