Bundy patients waiting for beds

BUNDABERG Hospital is one of many major hospitals across the state making critical patients wait longer than four hours for a bed.

NO GOOD: Member for Bundaberg David Batt has slammed the statistics. Picture: Paul Donaldson BUN201117LNP17

BUNDABERG Hospital is one of many major hospitals across the state making critical patients wait longer than four hours for a bed.

Category 1 patients presenting at emergency departments suffering immediately life-threatening illness or injury are finding themselves in limbo because health workers at Bundaberg can't admit them within key times.

Only 36 per cent of Bundaberg Category 1 patients are getting a bed in four hours. The state average is 57 per cent.

Newly elected LNP Member for Bundaberg David Batt hit out at the "shocking Queensland Health data” saying it showed three years of mismanagement by Annastacia Palaszczuk and Labor.

"The people of Bundaberg deserve a world-class health system and Labor isn't working to deliver the services we need,” Mr Batt said.

"The hard-working nurses, doctors and paramedics at Bundaberg Hospital need more assistance to improve wait times and targeted resources to provide better health services.

"When almost one-third of patients presenting to the hospital's ED aren't being seen in the Department's own recommended time frame something is terribly wrong and it's just not good enough.

Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services Steven Miles blamed a lot of the issue on the record flu season.

He said more than 55,000 cases of flu were confirmed in Queensland last year - more than three times higher than the five year average.

"There are some records you just never want to see broken,” Mr Miles said.

"Paramedics and our emergency department clinicians worked tirelessly last year to make sure critically ill people were seen on time.

"But the surge in flu patients did make things more difficult.”

"There were more than 1.37 million emergency department presentations in 2017, up from more than 1.33 million in 2016.

"Many of them were flu-related.”

Mr Miles said Queensland Health was tackling the flu wave head-on - with free vaccinations for children under five one measure.

Australian Medical Association Queensland vice-president Dr Jim Finn said the figures reflected difficulties getting patients out of the ED and into hospital for comprehensive treatment.

"We do have a growing population and we have a growing elderly population.”