Health Minister Yvette D’Ath meets with Hervey Bay Hospital staff

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has met with medical staff in Hervey Bay as efforts continue to address the hospital’s bed shortage.

Heath Minister Yvette D’Ath has met with medical staff in Hervey Bay during the Cabinet’s visit to address the ongoing crisis at the city’s hospital.

Earlier this month, a protest was held outside Hervey Bay Hospital to call attention to bed shortages and critical staff shortages there.

Consulting specialist intensive care doctor Raju Pusapati a shared his concerns outside the hospital at the rally, at which he was a delegate.

He had been on leave twice because of burnout during his six years at Hervey Bay Hospital because he was overworked, he said.

He told the Chronicle he worried constantly about his patients.

“Absolutely, all the time,” he said.

Dr Pusapati explained that across Queensland, hospitals had a standard capacity escalation framework.

On level one, the funded beds at the hospital were all occupied and the spare beds were opened.

Level two meant the hospital was over capacity, with the use of unfunded beds.

Level three was extreme overcapacity, with all the spare beds taken and patients waiting in the Emergency Department for beds.

Code yellow meant elective surgeries had to be postponed because of the lack of capacity.

The hospital has been Code Yellow at least five times in recent weeks.

Together Union organiser Allison Finlay-Bissett with other protesters outside Hervey Bay Hospital.

Ms D’Ath said she had visited the Urraween ambulance station and had been talking to staff about the issues surrounding demand and ramping.

She said after the Cabinet meeting at Hervey Bay High School’s Creative Arts Complex, she would be visiting the hospital to staff, the chief executive and the chair of the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service.

“We are putting lots of investment in here and the ambulance officers did say they’ve noticed some improvements after purchasing extra bed capacity.

“We’re certainly investing in the hospital here, but I want to hear first hand what they’re doing locally.

“We’ve put over $276 million extra into the system in the last six month to create bed capacity where we are seeing those demands across Queensland.

“I’m really keen and looking forward to meeting with the staff, meeting with the executive and the board today to hear what they are doing locally to ensure that we can improve those responses.”

In response to whether the vacant shell on the third level of the Hervey Bay Emergency Department would be brought online, Ms D’Ath said she would be talking to those at the hospital about what initiatives had been taken already and what they are planning to take, because “it’s not just about the emergency department”.

“The reason people end up in ambulances and in our emergency departments is bed capacity in the hospital itself,” she said.

“That’s why we’ve invested in extra beds both in the public and private sector, because if we can free up beds, that means people can move through emergency departments far quicker and that’s our objective.”

Ms D’Ath said Queensland had been very fortunate in containing the Covid virus, but plans had been made with hospitals from day one as to how to manage a big outbreak.

She said she was confident that as borders eventually reopened, Queensland hospitals would be able to manage Covid cases.

Ms D’Ath said she was confident the state’s hospitals would be able to cope with an outbreak.

“Every hospital I visit, small and large across Queensland, have adapted the way they are managing their hospitals and have spaces reserved, they have staff trained up, we have thee PPE supply.

“I have absolute faith in out hospital system and our staff to manage Covid going forward.”