The outback Queensland community of Doomadgee wants control over its own affairs, starting with housing, in a bid to beat a deadly but preventable disease that is ravaging families. Via NITV
The community of Doomadgee, in the Gulf Country of Far North Queensland, is in constant mourning.On the day we filmed with families preparing to face an inquest into the deaths of three loved Aboriginal women, three more senior respected Elders passed away.
It’s a preventable disease, which starts with a sore throat or skin sores, and can develop into acute rheumatic fever, and heart damage, unless treated with a course of penicillin.The inquest last week in Cairns heard that suitable housing is one way to help prevent infection. The federal government is spending $35 million to help develop a vaccine against the disease, plus $12 million to help fight the disease in high risk communities.
All three women presented here to Doomadgee Hospital on several occasions but were turned away or given panadol. Photo: Tanisha Stanton The inquest heard she was also not given the treatment she needed and her family felt ignored when they pleaded with medical professionals that Adele required immediate care.
"With my daughter, they didn’t let us go inside," Eunice Diamond, the mother of Adele, told The Point. "I just miss her beautiful smile. I miss her being with us. It’s not the same without her any more," she told The Point.
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