ANNA Bligh's candidate in the seat of Cairns has underwhelmed senior medical staff, headlining her vision for Cairns Base Hospital with a plan to drop the word ''Base'' from its name.

Labor candidate Kirsten Lesina said the "base" tag might be holding back Cairns Base Hospital in its bid to be recognised as a leading facility and attract more funding.

But the hospital’s Senior Medical Staff Association said it will take more than a name change to improve services at CBH, and a greater commitment was expected from election candidates.

"The name should be changed because Base Hospital makes it sound like a small, regional hospital," SMSA president Dr Peter Boyd said.

"But a name change is not going to dramatically change anything.

"What we want from both parties is recognition that they will support us as a tier one tertiary hospital."

Dr Boyd said the hospital was already performing many of the tasks of a tertiary hospital, and needed tier one recognition from the State Government in order to be compared more fairly with other hospitals in Queensland.

Calling the first media conference of her election campaign yesterday to make the name-change announcement, Cr Lesina insisted health would be her top priority if elected.

Although Labor has not committed to upgrading Cairns Base Hospital’s funding status if re-elected, Cr Lesina hopes a review into hospital funding will recommend lifting CBH to the top funding tier.

She said she would also push to cut the waiting list for cataract surgery and join Barron River MP Steve Wettenhall’s campaign to install a urologist in the Far North’s public health system.

Her announcements yesterday drew criticism from the LNP’s Cairns candidate, Gavin King, who pointed out the Opposition had already pledged to lift the hospital’s funding status to tier one.

"I’m not sure that dropping the word ‘base’ has anything to do with the problems plaguing our health system in Cairns," Mr King said.

"The real issue is funding for the services we provide."

Mr King said he "won’t stop" until Cairns Base Hospital is made a tier one facility – a promise criticised by Labor as a "$200 million thought bubble" that hasn’t been properly costed and runs contrary to national funding arrangements.

The state election will be held on March 24, and Cr Lesina will stand down from her position at Cairns Regional Council on February 19.

Share this article