The Jindalee School Dental Clinic has decided to close its doors following the recent maintenance issue involving the air conditioning system in January. Due to the air conditioning failure, the clinic wasn’t able to reopen until the unit was replaced.
According to Metro South Health acting chief executive Robert Mackway-Jones, the maintenance issues caused by the recent air conditioning unit failure as well as the replacement were too costly for a clinic that wasn’t being used at full capacity. In fact, the clinic only opens six months per year.
Since 2015, only a total of 2,337 children had appointments at the dental clinic. It was also recorded that most of the families in the suburb prefer to set appointments at the Inala Dental Clinic because of its better facilities and longer opening hours.
The closure may seem like a sound decision when viewed from a business perspective but some people weren’t happy with this decision. According to Tarnya Smith, a Mt Ommaney state LNP MP, the community wasn’t consulted about this. Ms Smith said that the dental clinic has been providing services for 30 years. It has become an institution in the community. She expressed disappointment that the dental clinic did not consult the local community prior to closure.
However, Mr Mackway-Jones denied that they neglected to consult the community. He said that they have discussions with the school community and patients about the planned closure.
The closing of the dental clinic means that patients from Jindalee, Jamboree, and Middle Park state schools to travel further for their dental appointments. The Inala Dental Clinic seems to be a popular alternative choice. To know if your child if eligible for free dental care at this clinic, you can click here.
Pet owners in Jindalee and nearby suburbs can look forward to getting better care for their pets as a new 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital is scheduled to open in Jindalee.
(Photo credit: Animal Emergency Service (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) / Facebook)
The new emergency animal care facility will open in late June at the Jindalee Homemaker Centre at 34 Goggs Road. It will service suburbs in the western side of Brisbane as well as those in Ipswich.
With the opening of the animal care hospital, residents in Jindalee and Brisbane’s western corridor will not need to drive for at least an hour to get emergency medical service for their pets.
The veterinary service is a joint initiative by Animal Emergency Service (AES) and Veterinary Specialist Services (VSS). The facility will specialise in treating critically ill and injured animals. Just like the other Animal Emergency Service facilities, the Jindalee animal hospital will provide emergency veterinary care every night and will be open 24 hours during weekends and public holidays.
Proximity is key when it comes to saving the life of a pet. It could be risky to transport a critically injured or sick animal. This is what AES and VSS are addressing with the establishment of the new $4-million veterinary hospital.
(Photo credit: Animal Emergency Service (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) / Facebook)
Dr Gerardo Poli, director of AES in Underwood, will head the emergency critical care division of the emergency animal hospital. Up to 15 doctors will be providing animal care services in the new hospital. If necessary, the Jindalee facility can be assisted by more than 100 staff from AES Underwood.
The new Jindalee animal hospital will accord all hospital services available in human hospitals. It will provide complete medical services, including surgery, critical care and oncology. It is also possible that the hospital will provide dentistry, dermatology, internal medicine and behavioural medicine.
Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU) is preparing for larger utility demand in the future and is using a giant borer to do just that.
Dubbed ‘Kenji,’ QUU’s tunnel borer weighs 45 tonnes and is capable of tunnelling through rocks 10 metres below the river. The gigantic machine will create a tunnel starting from the Kingfisher Park in Kenmore and will pass underneath the Brisbane River before reaching the other side of the river near the Jindalee Scout Hall.
Kenji will bore a total length of 560 metres, equal to five football fields, to pave the way for two new pipes. The tunnelling project will be completed in around nine weeks, provided that there are no adverse weather or ground conditions.
QUU’s cross-river pipeline project will accommodate two pipes, one for water and another for sewage. With this project, the utility company should be able to effectively service a growing population in the western suburbs. The pipeline construction is also intended to ensure that the area’s water and sewerage network is built strong enough to withstand the elements.
Local Kids Participate
As part of the $17-million cross-river pipeline project, QUU invited kids from four local schools to give the giant borer a unique name and design. Of the more than 200 entries that the utility company received, Luke Lau from Kenmore South State School and Olivia Harm from Jindalee State School won the prizes.
Olivia came up with ‘Kenji’ name for the tunnel by combining Kenmore and Jindalee. Luke designed the colourful look of the tunnel borer.
