Premier and CHO’s confusing statements over Qld’s hospital system and incoming Covid wave

The Premier and chief health officer have made conflicting statements over whether Queensland’s hospital system is prepared for the incoming wave of Covid cases. VOTE IN OUR POLL

Confusion remains over whether Queensland’s hospital system is prepared for the incoming wave of Covid cases, with Annastacia Palaszczuk saying no hospital system in the country is ready.

However, the Queensland Premier was corrected by Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young two minutes after the worrying prediction at Sunday’s press conference when she told reporters that Queensland was ready.

The conflicting statements then saw Ms Palaszczuk suggest Queensland was ready, but there were a lot of factors at play and she did not have a “crystal ball” to tell her how everything would play out.

Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at Sunday’s Covid update. Picture: Richard Walker

The confusing messaging comes after health ministers across the country asked for a shake up of Commonwealth health funding, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison accused Ms Palaszczuk of “shakedown politics” for suggesting it would be “irresponsible to put the whole country at risk” before additional health funding was provided to ready hospitals.

Asked about hospital preparedness on Sunday, Ms Palaszczuk said: “I don’t think any hospital in the country would say they’re ready.”

Asked why Queensland wasn’t ready after so many months of staving off the pandemic, she said the whole nation was working on a plan, and Dr Young had been preparing, but “everyone should understand that these are very, very difficult times”.

She said the co-operation of the federal government was needed and work was being done to identify aged care and disability patients who should be moved out of hospitals to free up bed capacity.

But two minutes later, Dr Young said while the pandemic would intensify requirements, “our hospital system is ready”.

“So it’s ready, it will manage it,” she said, adding that intensive care capacity had been doubled and could be increased further, staff had been trained up and a lot of additional equipment, like ventilators, had been purchased.

Questioned on the opposing opinions, Ms Palaszczuk then said: “What I mean is that there is a global pandemic, all right?”

“So we don’t know what the future holds, so Dr Young has had everything prepared, the health system is prepared.

“But I don’t have that crystal ball, so we just have to do everything we can within our capability (and) we’ll learn from what happens in NSW and Victoria over the coming months.

“But what we’ve seen around the world is that you end up having very tired workforces … so these are extraordinary times and we are preparing as best as we can.”