THE Northern Territory government has moved to allay concerns that interstate patients needing life-saving dialysis are being turned away from its hospitals, saying all urgent cases will continue to be treated.
The Alice Springs Hospital was the scene of controversy earlier this week when it emerged that an Aboriginal elder who had travelled from her home in northern South Australia for dialysis faced having to travel hundreds of kilometres to be treated in her home state.
Nura Ward said she wanted to receive her treatment in Alice Springs — a five-hour drive from her home in Ernabella — rather than face a 20-hour trip to Adelaide.
But after the South Australian government rejected suggestions it was to blame for the impasse, the Northern Territory government has sought to defend itself from suggestions it has made different arrangements for Central Australians who come from Western Australia as opposed to South Australia.
A spokeswoman for South Australian Health Minister John Hill said the southern state had been paying more than $1 million a year for its residents to receive dialysis treatment in the Territory, and this would continue for pre-existing patients.
However, to manage soaring demand, both governments had agreed that future dialysis patients would be treated in South Australia, she said. Port Augusta and Whyalla dialysis facilities had been upgraded to handle the extra load, and other options were being considered to provide dialysis services on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands from where Ms Ward comes .
But a West Australian health department spokeswoman confirmed a separate agreement with the Territory allowed residents of north and east Warburton to receive dialysis treatment in Alice Springs — regardless of whether they were new or existing patients.