Family doctors and their staff face regular death threats from angry patients vowing to burn down their homes and hunt down their children as a GP shortage reaches crisis point. International travel bans are preventing the recruitment of more doctors from some countries, exacerbating jammed appointment schedules across the state. Rising populations and a flood of patients seeking help for serious mental health conditions and substance abuse are also being blamed for the shocking rise in abuse, with receptionists being abused and insulted daily as they tell desperate patients that they can t squeeze them. Family First Medical Centre practice manager Carrie Norval outlined the extent of the threats in a Facebook post that sparked dozens of doctors and practice managers from Bundaberg to Brisbane to reveal they too live in fear and their work situation has become unbearable.
Health by Madura McCormack
Premium Content The State Government s COVID vaccine rollout grinds to halt each weekend, with all clinics closing on Sundays and just one staying open on a Saturday. No jabs were administered at the 60 vaccine hubs controlled by Queensland Health on Sunday and just 34 were given on Saturday - compared to 690 over the weekend in Victoria and 396 in Western Australia. The halting pace of the rollout comes despite Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk moving to reassure Queenslanders it was moving forward after unvaccinated frontline workers sparked a Brisbane-wide lockdown. And it has led to urgent calls for clinics to open on weekends and criticism from a leading Queensland respiratory doctor who said many health workers tried to get immunised over the Easter break but could not find a state-run clinic.
Vaccine rollout grinds to a halt after 34 jabs in two days gympietimes.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gympietimes.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.