AMA presidents puts $1k bet on east coast health systems buckling under Covid pressures

The AMA president has placed a $1000 bet on hospitals crumbling under pandemic pressures over the holiday season if further measures aren’t put in place.

The chief of the country’s peak medical body is so sure Covid will push hospitals to breaking point this summer he’s put up a $1000 bet and his Queensland counterpart is backing him all the way.

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Maria Boulton has told the Sunday Mail she is not a betting person but is backing Steve Robson the AMA president who tweeted on Saturday that “if the major hospitals on the east coast are not overwhelmed with patients and facing staff shortages over the holiday break I’ll donate $1000 to charity”.

Here's a prediction I'm going to put money behind.

If the major public hospitals on the east coast aren't overwhelmed with patients and facing staff shortages over the holiday break - I'll donate $1000 to charity.

🤦‍♂️https://t.co/iXUarLKj56

— AMA President (@amapresident) November 11, 2022

Currently, New South Wales is in the grips of the latest Covid wave as a cruise ship with around 800 positive cases on board has just docked in Sydney Harbour.

The ship is at a Tier 3 which indicates a high level of transmission on board but is set to disembark this afternoon, despite nearly one in four passengers having the virus.

With other states showing massive transmission and interstate travel back on the cards, Dr Boulton said she’s fearful for Queensland and hopes the chief health officer John Gerrard has got it right when he says this the fourth wave will not be as bad as the last.

“The truth is that our hospitals are already stretched and we can’t afford another Covid wave like we saw in winter,” Dr Boulton said.

AMA president professor Steve Robson. Supplied

“The chief health officer doesn’t think this wave will be as bad as the last one. We hope he’s right, but time will tell.

“In the first two years of this pandemic, we had just seven Covid-related deaths. This year, almost 2300 Queenslanders have died with Covid. Thousands of families and friends are grieving,” she said

“We all want to think Covid is just a normal part of life, but if we had 2300 people die on our roads in less than a year we would be calling for action.”

Dr Boulton urges Queenslanders to wear a mask when indoors and around others, in all healthcare settings, in ride shares and in public transport. Stay home if you feel sick. Get tested if you have any symptoms. And get your booster shots if due. If you are unwell with Covid symptoms, are eligible for Covid antivirals and test negative on a RAT, consider a PCR test to be sure.

In Queensland, the latest weekly report to last Wednesday found there were 202 people in hospital including nine in intensive care which was up from the 105 people in hospital a week prior and the three people in the ICU.

AMAQ President Maria Boulton.