General News
12 March, 2025
Widower's wish for a Mount Isa hospice
This is about dignity for our dying, says Mount Isa man David Nunnery.
The helplessness felt when watching a loved one die is universal to every family, and David Nunnery is hoping to spark a conversation about this taboo subject.
David spent the past three years nursing his wife of almost 50 years through the terminal stages of lung cancer until she finally succumbed in November.
The longtime Mount Isa resident said the painful experience had confirmed the desperate need for a local hospice to be constructed that would allow residents to spend their final months in a collective, welcoming environment.
And he believes it should become an issue of importance during the upcoming federal election.
David said families often “suffered in silence” and did not want to discuss what they experienced after their loved one had passed.
But the 73-year-old said more grieving families and widowers needed to speak out to improve the plight of others going through a similar scenario.
“So many people just want to forget everything that happened and move on after their loved one has passed away,” David told North West Weekly.
“But those of us who have been through this should be talking about it openly so we can push for better services for other families.”
Sandra was familiar with the health system, having been a theatre nurse at Mount Isa Hospital for 28 years before working as a courtesy bus driver at the Irish Club.
However, David said that even she was not prepared for the difficulties confronted when facing terminal illness in the Outback.
David said matters were complicated when he also became sick with his own cancer prognosis last year, which forced him to make the difficult decision to fly to Townsville for tests and treatment and leave Sandra at the house alone.
While she did attend the palliative care unit at Mount Isa Hospital, David said the limited bed space did not always make this a viable option.
He said he frequently declined doctor’s instructions to remain in Townsville overnight and instead would return to Mount Isa on the same day, so he was not away from Sandra for any more time than was necessary.
He said it was during these journeys that he began to wish there was somewhere that Sandra could visit, even just for a few hours while he was away, to socialise and be supervised by trained staff.
“I thought about how many others in Mount Isa would be facing the same problems,” he said.
“If there was a hospice, we could combine it with Cancer House and have a respite area and an end-of-life area.
“It takes so little to make someone who is very sick feel comfortable and cared for, we just need somewhere they could sit in the garden and talk to others.”
David said he believed whoever won the seat of Kennedy at the federal election should make this a top priority issue when negotiating with any new government.
The lifelong Labor Party supporter said he believed the construction of a hospice was an ambition that was above daily political scraps.
“This is about dignity for our dying,” he said.
North West Hospital and Health Service chief executive Sean Birgan said Mount Isa provided hospital and compassionate home care palliative services in partnership with Blue Care.
“The current service enables individual clients to receive the care that they wish in the location of their choosing,” he said.
“This community-backed service ensures the highest level of support, comfort and care to patients and families during the end of life stage.”
