Hunter Quay Hospital extended treatment hours by nine hours after rain-swollen Bellbird Creek forced buses off the low road into Marroway, delaying dialysis for 29 patients. The last treatment finished at 01:20 on Tuesday, hospital officials said; no patient went home without receiving their scheduled session.
The closures began at 05:40 on Monday, 26 October, as water covered the crossing used by six regional bus routes. Twelve patients arrived more than four hours late, and the hospital called in extra renal staff to keep the unit running. For families in Marroway, the date recalled the 2016 flood that also severed the district’s main link to hospital care.
A familiar road cut off
The hospital’s chief operating officer, Tadeusz Wróbel, said staff began calling patients before dawn and rearranged treatment slots as buses turned back from the flooded crossing. Some relatives drove people to the hospital; others waited for the water to drop. The journey from Marroway is about 38 km (24 miles), but on Monday the usual bus trip had no reliable replacement.
Ozella A. Gottlieb, who has received dialysis at the hospital for six years, said she reached the ward shortly before 15:00 after a neighbour drove her through a longer inland route. “They told us it was the same date as the flood. I didn’t need reminding,” she said. “You plan your week around treatment. Then one road decides whether the plan exists.”
You plan your week around treatment. Then one road decides whether the plan exists.
Ozella A. Gottlieb, dialysis patient
The anniversary had been marked with a small gathering at the creek-side memorial, where residents recalled the 2016 flood’s two-day road closure. During that event, six dialysis patients stayed overnight at the hospital while transport was arranged. Monday’s rain did not reach the same level, but the familiar route closure brought those memories back for patients and staff.
Hospital demands a backup plan
Libuša Ondrišová, a renal physician at Hunter Quay, said missing a session can become dangerous for some patients, particularly those with limited fluid tolerance. She said the team assessed each delayed arrival and adjusted schedules rather than shortening treatment. “The extra hours mattered because every patient received the full time prescribed for them,” she said.
The North Coast Passenger Office said water over the crossing made the road unsafe for buses and that routes would remain diverted until engineers inspected it. Its operations manager, Ibrahim Zaidi-Hassim, said the office would review why accessible replacement vehicles were not available sooner. The hospital estimates Monday’s extended shift cost A$420,000 (about €255,000), including staffing and patient transport.
Hospital managers have asked the regional health service to fund a standing transport plan for dialysis patients during floods, including booked cars and a nearby treatment space that can open at short notice. Wróbel said the hospital would publish the review’s findings by 30 November. For patients who marked the anniversary by checking the creek and their appointment time, he said, a promise of another review was not enough: “We need a route that still works when the usual one disappears.”
