‘Real threat our hospitals will be overwhelmed’: Doctors’ fears if Qld border opens up

Queensland’s top doctors will hold crisis talks today as fears mount the state’s already overstretched hospitals simply won’t be able to cope with a Covid outbreak.

Queensland’s leading doctors are “very anxious” about opening the border, warning hospitals are already at breaking point.

The Australian Medical ­Association Association Queensland will on Tuesday hold a crisis meeting to discuss the health system’s ability to cope with an outbreak.

It comes as new ramping figures show Queensland Health missed its statewide target by more than 20 per cent.

The figure has been seized on by the LNP, which has renewed calls for real-time data to help inform staff decisions.

Opposition health spokeswoman Ros Bates claimed ­ambulance ramping had become the “new normal”.

“All Queenslanders deserve a world-class health system no matter where they live,” she said.

Ramping Roundtable chair Dr Kim Hansen said hospitals faced a looming crisis current resources would not handle.

“There’s a very real threat that our hospitals will be overwhelmed … as soon as we have an outbreak or when we open up borders,” she said.

A lack of staff has left hospitals already operating at more than 100 per cent capacity.

In some cases, patients have been left on hard trolleys for up to 48 hours before being moved to hospital beds.

Ambulances ‘ramped’ at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. Picture: David Clark

In regional Queensland, hospitals are overwhelmed by patients despite a lack of actual Covid cases, Dr Hansen said.

At Hervey Bay Hospital, 35 per cent of patients were ramped, which was the worst rate in four months, and 53 per cent of patients were ramped at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, according to a question on notice.

While the statewide “patient off stretcher within 30 minutes” target for 2020-21 was 90 per cent, Queensland Health’s annual report revealed it was 68 per cent.

Dr Hansen suggested returning over-qualified nurses with ICU experience from Covid testing and vaccination hubs to hospitals and bringing back overseas nurses.

Medical experts said real-time data would help find beds for patients and monitor wait times between patients arriving at the ramp and being offloaded to a hospital bed.

Dr Hansen said that without an action plan and collaboration with Queensland Health, there would be no space for the spike of patients.

“My colleagues and I are very anxious, we’ve seen what’s happening in Sydney and Melbourne … they’re in crisis mode,” she said.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said every health minister had called for 50-50 funding, supporting patients in hospital beds who should be supported by NDIS packages.

Meanwhile, unvaccinated staff are still in hospitals despite the government ruling anyone yet to be jabbed would have to take leave from this week.

Chief health officer Jeannette Young said no unvaccinated staff were in the state’s five “Covid hospitals”.

The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union and AMAQ support the jab ­mandate, but the Nurses ­Professional Association Queensland says the direction is “completely unreasonable”.