Ipswich Hospital patients faced with extreme wait times as Covid-19 cases spike

Patients are being forced to wait hours in a hallway as the third Covid-19 wave cripples Ipswich health services, with the region recording the highest transmission rate across the entire southeast.

Alarmed staff from a hospital west of Brisbane are warning of a Covid-19 meltdown after the area was swamped with patients, chalking up the highest number of virus cases in southeast Queensland last week.

West Moreton District Health staff said the sheer number of Covid-19 cases were putting the area’s already overwhelmed hospital system under enormous pressure.

Ipswich Hospital’s two Covid-19 wards are operating at the highest tier-four pandemic response level, while other state hospitals sit at tier three.

All hospitals across the state have been dealing with growing virus cases, flu patients, sick staff, ramping, and health officials with burnout.

But health data also showed Ipswich was the worst affected last week.

The country’s latest Covid-19 wave, which is yet to peak, has been dominated by the most contagious sub-variants BA. 4 and BA.5.

Concerned Ipswich resident Charlotte Harding, wrote a letter of complaint to Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, after she was left waiting for hours in a hallway at Ipswich Hospital with 11 others.

“Staff were stressed and understaffed and overworked and also the paramedics,” she said.

“I had a large crack in the ceiling just above where I was lying also on my stretcher.

“We need more doctors, nurses, paramedics and we need renovations done in our Hospital.”

An Ipswich doctor, who did not want to be named, told The Courier-Mail the hospital’s emergency department had been struggling before cases started to rise.

“Now it is insane and unsafe,” he said.

“We have staff shortages across the spectrum, both doctors and nurses, but unsurprisingly there is constant chatter among staff about finding a less stressful career.”

The doctor said the hospital was dealing with an unmanageable amount of patients with respiratory issues, which caused extremely long wait times.

Eleven patients were left waiting in a hallway in Ipswich Hospital. Picture: Supplied

A West Moreton Health spokesperson said all five of the hospital’s emergency departments had been very busy.

“We are continuing to review our pandemic response through our incident management framework,” she said.

“We ask patients to be kind to our emergency department staff, who are working hard to see all patients in a timely manner but will always attend to the sickest and most injured first.”

West Moreton Health cares for some of the community’s most vulnerable and remote residents with a large footprint spanning Ipswich, Gatton, Esk, and Boonah regions.

Rosewood, Lowood, and Laidley East were the hardest hit areas.