Qld hospitals: Funds committed amid $2bn backlog of urgent maintenance

Extra funds will be pumped into Queensland’s ageing hospitals after a $2bn backlog in urgent maintenance was revealed.

Charleville Hospital is one of the crumbling facilities in dire need of maintenance.

Extra funds will be pumped into Queensland’s ageing hospitals and every cent allocated to maintenance to be used only for that purpose, Health Minister Tim Nicholls has vowed.

And a review into the state’s hospital infrastructure program will now be expanded to include the growing backlog of delayed maintenance, with an independent expert to hand in his report by the end of February.

The Queensland Auditor-General’s latest report into the state’s health system revealed there was now a $2bn maintenance backlog on ageing hospitals, risking the safety of staff and patients.

It was also revealed a third of buildings owned by Queensland Health were due to be replaced through the next decade.

The Auditor-General also laid bare the significant increase in demand for hospital and ambulance care, and the growing queue of people waiting for specialist outpatient surgery.

Mr Nicholls said the report was one of the “most scathing” he had seen in his 18 years in parliament.

“Work needs to be done,” he said.

“We’re going to make sure that every cent in the health budget that is allocated is spent on the right things … and it’s done when it needs to be done.”

Queensland’s overall health budget stands at $28.9bn as of the June budget — a figure the Auditor-General noted was just 3.4 per cent higher than what the department and hospitals spent the previous year.

Mr Nicholls vowed to go into bat for the health budget at the cabinet table, and when asked how much more he believed was needed pointed the 2024-25 increase barely kept up with inflation.

Health Minister Tim Nicholls on Thursday. Picture: Liam Kidston

“That just highlights the extent of the underfunding that occurred in the health system,” he said.

Auditor-General Rachel Vagg, in her annual report into the health system, found the state’s 16 hospital and health services were facing significant challenges in paying for facilities to be maintained.

There was a $580m increase in delayed upkeep in 2023-24, bringing the total bill of required upgrades to $2bn.

The list of crumbling infrastructure includes World War II-era pre- and post-operative facilities in Charleville, and radiation technology in Metro South reaching its use-by date in 2023 and breaking down 32 times in a year, delaying treatment for cancer patients.

A 60-day review into the state’s bloated hospital build pipeline, led by consultant Sam Sangster, will now be expanded to take in the health maintenance backlog and how much extra funds are needed to get on top of the problem.

Mr Sangsters review is due to government by the end of February.

Former health minister Shannon Fentiman, now the shadow treasurer, said she was aware of the $2bn maintenance backlog and confirmed she had visited the deteriorating hospitals and spoken with staff about maintenance issues.

“We recognise this was a problem,” she said.

“I visited most hospitals in the state in my time as health minister, and, of course, they talked to me about maintenance, but they also talked to me about new builds and new beds and new equipment.

“That’s why we funded HHS at a record level in our last budget … most HHS were getting a massive increase in growth this financial year to deal with that”.

Originally published as Qld hospitals: Funds committed amid $2bn backlog of urgent maintenance