Gympie Hospital reaches highest emergency department waiting time in two years

The latest emergency department data has revealed a shocking truth that almost a third of patients have to wait 30 minutes or longer to get taken off the ambulance stretcher at Gympie Hospital. Read the statistics.

A statewide health crisis is creeping into Gympie Hospital with more than one third of patients presenting at the Emergency Department not being seen within clinically recommended times.

Gympie Hospital Emergency Department quarterly statistics showed the percentage of patients being seen in recommended time-frames had hit two-year lows in three out of five of emergency categories in the past quarter.

Across the April, May and June 2022 quarter, only 51 per cent of patients with a potentially life-threatening condition were being seen within the recommended 30 minutes at Gympie Hospital.

This was down from 63 per cent in the previous quarter, and beneath the previous low of 52 per cent in September 2021.

Sixty-eight per cent of potentially serious patients were being seen within 60 minutes of arriving, down from 81 per cent in March and 73 per cent in December, and 71 per cent with imminently life-threatening conditions were being seen within the recommended 10 minute time frame.

In total only 63 per cent of patients were being seen within clinically recommended time in April, May and June this year.

This was three per cent lower than the average rate of all Queensland reporting hospitals.

Quarterly statistics show an increase in waiting times at the Gympie Hospital ED.

The decrease was more significant than the statewide average decrease of 14 per cent between March and June.

More than 8200 people visited the Gympie Hospital Emergency Department between April and June this year, a five per cent increase on the same period last year, a Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service spokesperson said.

“Despite this increase, 100 per cent of the sickest patients [with immediately life-threatening conditions] were cared for within recommended time frames,” the SCHHS spokesperson said.

Patients were forced to wait an average of 25 minutes at the Gympie Hospital ED, six minutes longer than the state average.

This rose on the back of increased wait times for patients with less urgent, potentially serious and potentially life-threatening conditions.

A total of 364 patients did not wait for treatment and left the ED between April and June and 41 per cent of patients were admitted to hospital within four hours waiting.

This comes after the Gympie Hospital fracture clinic was temporarily closed due to staffing issues earlier this year.

AMA Queensland has been contacted for a comment.