AMA report reveals emergency shortfalls at Gympie Hospital

A new report by the nation’s peak professional body for doctors has painted a grim picture of waiting times at Gympie Hospital, with the region’s MP saying it is in ‘crisis’.

The troubling reality of Gympie Hospital’s emergency department waiting time problems has been revealed in a new AMA report, which MP Tony Perrett (inset left) says further highlights the “crisis” gripping the health service being overseen by Minister Yvette D’Ath (inset right).

The depth of emergency treatment delays at Gympie Hospital has been laid bare in a shocking new report by the nation’s peak doctor group, which revealed many patients were waiting longer than necessary.

The new Australian Medical Association’s 2023 logjam report reveals patients seeking emergency, urgent, or semi-urgent care at the Gympie Hospital were failing to be treated in the required time frames.

Only 77 per cent of patients presenting at the hospital requiring emergency care were seen within the required 10 minute time frame, the report says.

It was even worse for patients presenting with urgent injuries: only 56 per cent were treated within the required 30 minutes.

Seventy-three per cent of patients with semi-urgent injuries were being treated within one hour of arrival.

The AMA’s logjam report reveals the extent of wait time issues gripping Queensland’s hospitals, including at Gympie where a significant number of emergency patients are not being seen in recommended times. The figures refer to the percentage of patients being treated in required times.

Patients requiring either resuscitation or non-urgent care were largely being seen in timely fashion.

It was a similar problem for elective surgery patients in Gympie region.

Only three quarters or urgent and semi-urgent patients were treated in the clinically recommended times.

Gympie LNP MP Tony Perrett said the report “reinforces what everyone knows”.

“Health services in our region are in crisis,” Mr Perrett said.

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“Constituents frequently come to me with their experiences which contradict the Health Minister’s attempts to spin its way out of problems and massage messages.

“On every measure the problems have been there for years.”

Gympie LNP MP Tony Perrett said the AMA’s report further highlighted problems which were well known among the region’s residents.

A town-hall meeting in the middle of 2022 revealed “story after story highlighting the problems”.

“Right across the board services are under stress and patients transferred or told to go to the Sunshine Coast because services have been closed, reduced, or withdrawn,” Mr Perrett said.

“Today’s news that the Imbil Medical Centre will close in two weeks will only add further pressure to the Gympie hospital.

“The Master Clinical Services Plan identified we need a new hospital and a new site because facilities are old, not fit for purpose, fragmented, and spread across multiple buildings.”

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A Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service spokeswoman said its hospitals faced an influx of patients due to the Covid pandemic “and our clinical staff continue to work hard to triage, assess and care for patients within recommended waiting times”.

Holiday season surges from visitors played a role too.

“We are continuing to provide excellent care for our community despite major challenges in recent years,” she said.

A Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service spokeswoman said Gympie Hospital’s staff were faced with an influx of patients during the pandemic, and the SCHHS had been investing in improving the facility.

“There has been a reduction in the number of patients waiting longer than expected for their surgery in recent months, and we are committed to this improving every month.”

In the past year investment had been made to increase clinical staff to care for paediatric patients, providing an additional four short-stay beds in the emergency department, and increasing mental health clinicians within the ED, she said.

“We value all of our hardworking healthcare staff who continue to provide high quality care for our communities residing in the Gympie region.”

In a published statement on Thursday the AMA said nationwide problems were caused by ongoing workforce shortages, more ambulance ramping, and beyond-capacity emergency departments.