A 16-year-old Toni Simmons stood and watched her mother lie on blood-soaked hospital sheets with vomit on her pillow case after an operation for kidney cancer. In that instant teenage Toni knew she had to become a nurse. “She looked like she was about to die, she looked horrible. Mum had been in and out… [Read More]

Lynelle Fallon’s got one heck of a story to tell. From high school drop out to teen mother and then hospital cook to radiographer, Lynelle is a proud Indigenous woman now working at Mackay Base Hospital. The quietly spoken and modest 34-year-old left Pioneer State High after Year 10 and started working at Coles. “I… [Read More]

Jan Faulconbridge is making it her mission to support Clermont’s aged care community as they move into their new home later this year. The passionate community advocate has returned to town as Director of Nursing and Facility Manager for the Clermont Multi Purpose Health Service. Construction of a new aged care facility at the MPHS… [Read More]

Mackay BreastScreen Queensland radiographer Lizl De Kock never expected to be standing on the other side with a cancer diagnosis. Her routine mammogram in April last year resulted in a diagnosis of invasive breast cancer and a mastectomy a month later. “My tumour was too small to even feel, but fortunately the cancer had not… [Read More]

Mackay Base Hospital is trialling flexible visiting hours to see if this allows families and carers of patients to be more involved in their care. Chief Executive Jo Whitehead said the four-month trial started at the beginning of the month and meant visitors could access most areas of the hospital between 8am and 8pm. There… [Read More]