Dozens of Queensland hospitals report decline in active bed numbers

Hundreds of Queensland hospital beds at nearly 30 sites were taken offline as the state grapples a surge in the number of those waiting in the back of ambulances for urgent care.

Hundreds of Queensland hospital beds at nearly 30 sites were taken offline as the state grapples a surge in the number of those waiting in the back of ambulances for urgent care.

Twenty-nine hospitals had 335 less beds available at the end of 2022 compared with the end of September, 2021, according to The Courier-Mail’s analysis of government data.

Workforce shortages were blamed for the rise and fall in the available bed numbers, with Queensland Health insisting the data is collected from a snapshot in time.

The department said beds allocated as available is constantly changing with the capacity to increase and decrease in response to demand.

Hospitals with less beds online at the end of last year include a number of large South East Queensland sites where high rates of ramping were commonly reported – patients waiting more than half an hour on an ambulance stretcher.

They include the Princess Alexandra Hospital, which had 85 less beds available, as well as the Caboolture Hospital and Redland Hospital where 12 and nine less beds were online respectively.

Princess Alexandra Hospital has consistently reported high rates of ambulance ramping.

But other major hospitals with high rates of ramping had more beds available by the end of December, including the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Prince Charles Hospital, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Ipswich Hospital, and Logan Hospital, where the number of beds rose between six and 30.

A Queensland Health spokesman said simply increasing bed capacity would not solve the pressures on emergency departments.

“Available beds must be located in a suitable place for patient care, and also have the appropriate staff either immediately available or available within 24 hours, to care for patients who may occupy them,” he said.

“As staff availability plays a significant role in the available bed count, staff furloughing at the time the data was captured must be considered.

“While Queensland provides some of the best free healthcare in the world, we have also been impacted by the worldwide shortage of medical specialists.”

Attorney General Yvette D'Ath, Minister for Health and Ambulance Services.

Princess Alexandra Hospital ambulance ramping.

Australian Medical Association Queensland has repeatedly campaigned for the state government to increase hospital bed capacity, which it says could help ease ramping and the increasing pressure on emergency departments.

The peak body’s president, Maria Boulton, also said it was critical to address workforce shortages.

She said staff constraints was a global issue, which the World Health Organisation has previously described as a “crisis” with dire projections of an international shortfall of 10 million health workers by 2030.

“If there’s not enough workforce to open up beds, they’ll close the beds,” she said.

“That’s what happened during Covid with elective surgeries — a lot of the workforce was either sick or unwell or working in different areas of the health system.

“At the end of the day, the workforce is essential.”

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli questioned how the state’s health professionals could provide care with fewer beds available for patients.

“Continually asking staff to do more with less will deepen the health crisis and seriously puts patients at risk,” he said.