Alison Barrett writes:
Health professionals have warned that an increase in waterborne, mosquito-borne and other infections, including COVID-19, is expected in coming weeks in communities impacted by the devastating flooding in Far North Queensland.
Access to healthcare in some areas has also been disrupted, due to damaged roads and other infrastructure, as well as ongoing power disruptions.
“There are a number of people needing urgent resupply of medications,” RACGP Queensland branch Deputy Chair and GP in Cairns Dr Aileen Traves told Croakey.
“We also have significant numbers of COVID infections again, and we expect these numbers to rise as obviously people have not been able to stay home.”
AMA Queensland President Dr Maria Boulton told Croakey via email that many medical practices have had to temporarily close, and for those that haven’t, they are managing under “very challenging and unique circumstances”.
“What practices need right now is power, telephone and internet services restored. They also need access to medical supplies, antibiotics and vaccines, help with cleaning or rebuilding, and access to disaster grant funding from the Commonwealth Government,” she said.
AMA Queensland has requested urgent support to help practices “get back on their feet”, Boulton said.
While hospitals in the region have remained open throughout the cyclone and flooding, services including outpatients and elective surgery “are progressively recommencing”, according to a spokesperson from Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service.
Workforce shortages
In addition to temporary medical practice closures, many healthcare staff have been unable to get to work in the past week.
Apunipima Cape York Health Council CEO Debra Malthouse told Croakey that their capacity to provide ongoing services through their clinics has been hindered by the inability of clinicians to travel to Cape York.
However, she said they have been able to offer some telehealth services with the support of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers or Health Practitioners.
Prior to the event, they also identified high-risk patients and have been able to provide “a level of support remotely from Cairns”, Malthouse said.
Malthouse told Croakey that “as a community-controlled health organisation, [their] primary focus is on providing safe, culturally responsive care and support where [they] can.”
For communities affected by the flooding, though, access to clean water, food and shelter are priority, Malthouse said.
More frequent and severe events
After ex-tropical cyclone Jasper crossed the coast north of Cairns last week, significant and unprecedented rain triggered flooding in the southern Cape York Peninsula, isolating the community of Wujal Wujal.
Many of the Wujal Wujal community have since been evacuated to Cooktown. However, it is expected that residents may not be able to return to the community for some time.
A gofundme campaign has been organised to raise money for Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council by Cape York Weekly Newsletter editor Matthew Nicholls.
Adjunct Professor Steve Turton wrote in The Conversation that while “it’s too soon to attribute the current extreme rain and flooding to climate change”, events such as these will become more frequent and severe as the world continues to warm.
“For every one degree in average global temperature, the atmosphere can hold an extra seven percent water vapour. When the right atmospheric “triggers” are in place, this extra water vapour is released as intense rainfall,” Turton wrote.
This makes it even more important for the National Health and Climate Strategy to be implemented urgently, and in its entirety.
Long-term impact
Boulton from AMA Queensland said it is important for communities to be “provided with long-term supports for their safety, health and recovery”, including mental health support for children and healthcare workers.
Traves echoed Boulton’s sentiments – “long-term support will be needed as the effects of these events will be felt here for months to years after this was headline news”, she said.
GPs play a critical role in responding to disasters and supporting communities, Traves told Croakey.
“We should be making sure GPs are involved in disaster recovery both short and long-term”.
Resources
The Northern Queensland PHN is updating its website regularly with a list of GPs and pharmacies that are open in the FNQ region, as well as information for financial assistance, mental health support and public health advice.
“We know GPs, pharmacies, and other health professionals in the areas affected are doing all they can to remain open,” NQPHN CEO Sean Rooney told Croakey in a statement.
“Access to primary care for routine care and minor injuries sustained through emergency and recovery activities, and access to medication remain the key health issues as a result of the cyclone and floods.”
Similarly, the RACGP and AMA Queensland branches have information for GPs and other medical practitioners on their websites – RACGP and AMA.
Read the full statements given to Croakey by Apunipima Cape York Health Council, RACGP Queensland, AMA Queensland, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Services and NQ PHN here – Northern Queensland PHN and others.
From X/Twitter
Link to gofundme campaign here.
Watch the video from Yarrabah here. 
See Croakey’s extensive archive of articles on climate and health.
