5 min read
Two stories ran in the Cairns Post on Thursday, 3 September 2026. Both of them started with you.
Your accounts made the paper
The first is about Atherton Hospital: Nurses face 'near-daily' violence and assaults at Atherton hospital.
Last month a patient with dementia and a known history of aggression, for whom cutlery access had already been restricted, obtained a knife and attempted to attack staff members. Security and staff had already logged multiple risk assessments on that same patient before it happened. A decision to transfer him to a more appropriate secure setting in Cairns was reportedly made, then placed on hold.
"Staff have described being on the receiving end of this and similar patients' aggression repeatedly, including being kicked and struck, and have raised serious concern about what will happen if this pattern continues before a transfer is actioned." Kara Thomas, NPAQ President
One Atherton nurse told the paper what that feels like on the floor: "You don't expect to get throat-punched just doing your job." Duress alarms that don't work. Student nurses leaving because they signed up to care for patients, not be assaulted by them.
The second story, published the same morning, explains why. Up to 160 beds across Far North Queensland hospitals are occupied every day by aged care and NDIS patients who do not need hospital care. Cairns Hospital's own geriatrician says roughly 80 to 90 of those people are living with dementia, many with responsive behaviours that are hard to manage even in residential care. He put it plainly: that is close to three wards standing still.
Two stories, one problem. The violence you are absorbing at Atherton is what bed block looks like when it lands on a small rural ward with no secure capacity and one security officer who also gets pulled to ED.
What CHHHS has told us
We wrote to Chief Executive Leena Singh on 11 August with your survey feedback on parking, occupational violence and staffing. Her response came back on 2 September.
The CHHHS response of 2 September
What we got:
- Atherton Hospital is scheduled for a Facility Security and Occupational Violence Risk Assessment this month, with recommendations to be considered and implemented where appropriate.
- CHHHS says two Fire Safety and Security Officers are available 24 hours, including escorts to vehicles after hours.
- The knife incident was described as safely de-escalated. The patient remains at Atherton awaiting residential aged care placement, supported by the Cairns General Medicine Team and the Dementia and Delirium Service.
- On staffing, CHHHS points to Nursing Hours Per Patient Day, monthly reporting and existing escalation processes.
Leena Singh also confirmed publicly what we have been saying for two years: CHHHS averages around 120 patients at any one time occupying beds waiting to be placed elsewhere, many for longer than 70 days, some beyond 200.
That is an admission, not a defence. The system is doing this to you on purpose because no one has funded the alternative.
Kara's Spectator Article - Republished on NPAQ-News
Parking: where it stands
You told us in the survey what the Show closure does. Parking up to 700 metres away. Walking alone after dark past what one of you described as lurking locals. Oncology and Community Health patients arriving short of breath and anxious after a long uphill walk, and some avoiding booking on Show days entirely.
We wrote to three parties. Here is where each sits.
The Atherton Tableland Agricultural Society replied and apologised. Their review found the contracted traffic management provider did not implement the approved plan. Their Executive has met twice with the Atherton Director of Nursing and Midwifery and has a proposal for the 2027 Show aimed at protecting access for vulnerable patients. They will also meet with Council and Atherton Police.
The Agricultural Society Response
CHHHS has pointed us to Council, on the basis that street parking near the hospital is Council's remit. They did note that last year's Community Health Centre works created a dedicated patient drop-off with accessible kerbing.
Tablelands Regional Council discussions are ongoing.
We are not finished with this. The year-round shortfall, more on-site parking, lighting on the Mazlin Street overflow, and monitored short-stay bays for outpatients, is still on the table.
Our proposal on bed block
The Bed Block and Ambulance Ramping Policy Proposal 12 August 2025
Apologies and risk assessments do not free up a bed. We have put a specific fix to Minister Tim Nicholls and Director-General Dr David Rosengren, developed with Dr Duncan Syme (AMPS President) and Dr Gary Fettke: put a doctor back into aged care.
Most facilities run on one Registered Nurse and allied health support. GP visits are rare and getting rarer. So when a resident falls, becomes unwell or has a change in cognition, the default is an ambulance and an ED. Coming back the other way is just as hard, because there is too little supervision for someone who is improving but still needs support.
Our proposal creates a dedicated primary care doctor working across one or more facilities, on site daily or at least every weekday. They see every resident on a regular schedule, review wellbeing and medication, and are funded through Medicare or a state and federal partnership. It suits doctors in semi-retirement, or IMGs working through accreditation. A few doctors already do exactly this as a full-time role, and it works.
The economics are not complicated. Aged care discharge delays cost the Australian system up to $2 billion a year. Modelling puts savings at $1.4 billion over four years. Diverting just 100 acute bed days per facility per year fully funds the doctor.
We asked for a pilot in Hervey Bay. Given Far North Queensland is losing up to 160 beds a day to people who do not need hospital care, the case for running one here is just as strong.
Tell us what it looks like on your shift.
Reply to our member email or call 1300 263 374. Anything you tell us can be raised without naming you.