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Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter has welcomed news that Cairns, as of this week, has a reinstated breast screening service, however, he is livid that government would risk the lives of our mothers, sisters, wives and daughters by not reviewing Medicare rebates in line with cost of living increases.

“Once upon a time, we had one of the best healthcare systems in the world, but successive governments have let it go to wreck and ruin. Wait lists are months long; doctors are working round-the-clock and postponing their retirements so that their patients can keep receiving the care they need, and some clinics have been without a doctor entirely, some forced to shut down.

“We have pensioners in my electorate performing dental surgery on themselves, people waiting years for vital operations and now we have women who are dying because they don’t have access to early intervention programs,” Mr Katter said.

Gordonvale GP Dr Lisa Fraser agrees the current healthcare arrangements are not good enough.

“Breast screening is a national issue, but everything is experienced more acutely in rural areas, and as a community we are suffering.

“I don’t understand the logic of the bean counters down south,” Dr Fraser said.

“The cost of a late cancer diagnosis, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy is astronomical, especially compared to the cost of early intervention measures like image screening.”

“We are not seeing new graduates interested in breast imaging because the Medicare rate is ridiculously low.

“Increasing the Medicare rate for breast imaging would encourage people to choose it as a career ensuring services are available for early cancer detection,” Dr Fraser said.