Can you spot a safe mushroom from a toxic one? Not even experts in fungi toxicology can all of the time. This was the case in Mackay recently when an inter-state expert was sent photos to identify. Mackay Base Emergency Department emergency medicine specialist Dr Helen Deacon said the mushrooms in question had a pale… [Read More]

Mackay Base Hospital’s new rapid testing pathology instrument dubbed the ‘Panther’ is set to boost local COVID-19 and other respiratory condition testing capacity. The Hologic Panther Fusion can diagnose COVID-19, influenza and other respiratory conditions in approximately three hours from receipt of the specimen using molecular diagnostics which detect viral fragments. The Pather uses Polymerase… [Read More]

Some snake bite patients are risking death by leaving hospital against medical advice. Mackay Base Hospital Emergency Department specialist Dr Andrew Brier said worryingly some people ignored medical advice to wait until a series of blood tests were complete. “Every year a number of people leave hospital against medical advice, and snake bites are probably… [Read More]

Anaesthetic registrars will be able to spend longer at Mackay Base Hospital thanks to new accreditation from the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. Clinical Director of Anaesthetics Dr Danny Bartlett said trainees could now spend 104 weeks in Mackay, an increase from 52 weeks. The accreditation for Vocational Training in Anaesthesia is until… [Read More]