A NEW hospital for Charters Towers is at the top of the mayor's state election wish list.
Charters Towers Regional Council Mayor Frank Beveridge urged all sides of politics to commit to building a new hospital in the town.
Mr Beveridge said the old hospital building was 'grossly outdated,' with major repair work required.
"The current hospital is grossly outdated - I'm talking plumbing, layout, fire and safety standards - and is just unable to facilitate the expansion of services we want to see," Cr Beveridge said.
He wants a new hospital to be built next to the Eventide Aged Care Facility with increased specialty service to better cater for the health needs of both Charters Towers residents and those further afield in north-west Queensland.
"Our 'hospital' has been left behind when it comes to funding and has become a 'health service,' Cr Beveridge said.
"It's imperative we be given the capacity to offer critical services such as renal dialysis and chemotherapy, as well as obtain a CT scanner.
A region of our size and population, along with the westerners who use us as a service hub, shouldn't have to travel, in some cases daily, to Townsville for these services."
KAP Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter has also been vocal about health services in the region, and has called on the state government to pledge funding for dialysis services for rural patients.
Mr Katter said critically-unwell patients in rural towns across the North were being forced to travel hundreds of kilometres to Townsville for life-saving care.
"This chronic underfunding has led to an acute problem that is sacrificing lives right now," Mr Katter said.
"There are people saying, 'I'd rather not travel to Townsville every day, I'd rather sit here and die'.
Mr Katter said ongoing negotiations for dialysis services in Charters Towers and Ingham had gone unresolved, and Mount Isa was still 15 chairs short.
The Townsville Hospital and Health Service's COVID-19 recovery proposed infrastructure program released in June identified three priority projects in Charters Towers.
These included a satellite dialysis unit, CT scanner and a multi-million dollar refurbishment of Eventide.
A $164 million re-build of the Charters Towers Hospital is also planned within the next four years, with Queensland Health proposing to deliver a new-build, contemporary, purpose designed CSCF level three hospital, adjacent to Eventide.
