Fed-up health workers demand disease protection in Qld hospitals

Queensland doctors working in some of the state’s most high-risk areas without proper protective equipment will hold an emergency meeting with the chief health officer within days.

Health workers are demanding protection from disease.

Fed-up Queensland doctors working in some of the state’s most high-risk areas without proper protective equipment will hold an emergency meeting with the chief health officer within days.

Doctors who have been fighting for improvements in infection control at the state’s hospitals for years will put pressure on CHO Heidi Carroll this week to urgently get moving on a plan to protect staff and patients. The Australian Medical Association Queensland is concerned about poor protection against airborne diseases in high-risk areas such as emergency departments, intensive care units, oncology services and maternity wards.

The body is demanding better ventilation, routine testing and easily available PPE equipment ahead of a horror influenza season predicted in the state, as cases explode.

“AMAQ has been raising member concerns about inadequate hospital infection controls in Queensland Health facilities since 2023,” AMAQ president Nick Yim said.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Heidi Carroll.

“We have met with and written to the former chief health officer several times, urging implementation of key measures, particularly to reduce the spread of airborne disease.”

But the association reports doctors are still reporting a shortage of vital safety measures.

“We understand that not every measure can be funded, but we must prioritise preventive health to minimise patient harms and future costs,” Dr Yim said.

In February last year former CHO John Gerrard told the AMAQ he would personally visit each Queensland hospital to gauge infection control measures.

In an email to the peak medical body Dr Gerrard stated that he had been concerned about the problem for “some time”.

“We continue to call for the adoption of readily available ventilation systems to reduce the spread of airborne disease. We also need to see routine testing for infections, clear, standardised processes for symptomatic staff, including remaining home pending test results, and the wearing of appropriate personal protective equipment,” Dr Yim said.

The AMAQ wants to see patients regularly tested and isolated or at least separated from other patients in high-risk areas if they are positive for Covid, influenza, measles and other respiratory diseases.

AMAQ president Dr Nick Yim. Picture: Russell Shakespeare.

“We must hold the government accountable for their commitments to strengthening our struggling healthcare system and that includes investing in infrastructure to support our under-resourced hospitals,” Dr Yim said.

Queensland is braced for a horror influenza season, with cases already up 24 per cent than in the same period last year. In the first three months of 2025 more than 800 flu patients have been hospitalised and half of those were aged 65 and over.

Talks with the CHO are set for this week.

Originally published as Fed-up health workers demand disease protection in Qld hospitals