All smiles: Kidney transplant recipient Aunty Rosie Sambo from Thursday Island with renal and transplant nurse Prue Francis. Photo: Supplied.
Torres and Cape residents who are awaiting or have undergone life-saving kidney transplants can now access services much closer to home.
Following the opening of the Kidney Transplant Service in Townsville earlier this year, Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS) has launched its own service. It will support residents preparing for a transplant or recovering from the procedure.
Two part-time transplant nurses – already based in Cooktown and Thursday Island renal units – will support the new program, along with a dedicated part-time pharmacist.
Prior to the Townsville launch in July, Torres Strait, Cape York and Northern Peninsula Area residents who needed a kidney transplant travelled to Brisbane for the procedure.
TCHHS executive director Medical Services Dr Marlow Coates said the new service in Townsville was important for our First Nations communities disproportionately affected by kidney disease.
“Having a service closer to home is going to significantly reduce the financial and emotional burden for patients and their families,” he said.
“We are also enhancing the service we deliver our own patients with our dedicated nurses and a pharmacist within TCHHS to support these patients to ensure continuity of culturally safe and appropriate care.
“Awaiting a kidney transplant can be incredibly challenging and the new TCHHS service will further improve the care we are already delivering to those patients in our communities.”
Thursday Island kidney transplant recipient Aunty Rosie Sambo travelled to Brisbane in 2023 for her transplant after spending eight years on dialysis.
She said it had been an overwhelming process due to the tight timing for a patient to get to the hospital for the operation when an organ became available.
“Family want to be there to support you, but Brisbane is a long way for them,” she said.
“I also think long travel can make some people worry and that worry could make someone sicker.”
The new Townsville service is expected to perform about 30 transplants in the first year for patients in the North Queensland region, including the Torres Strait, Cape York and NPA.
