Health crisis: Doctors and nurses plead for fix as Queensland’s hospitals buckle under pressure

Exhausted frontline workers have spoken out about the health crisis gripping Queensland, claiming struggling hospitals are in the “worst state” they’ve ever seen. VOTE IN THE POLL

A “dangerous” shortage of nurses, too few GPs, growing mental health presentations and a spike in Covid and other respiratory cases have culminated in the “worst state” that health staff say they’ve ever seen southeast Queensland hospitals in.

In a scathing assessment of how the under-pressure health system is functioning, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine’s Queensland deputy chair Shantha Raghwan has pleaded with everyday people to speak out so state and federal governments will fix the problem.

Her comments follow “extreme” demand on the health system in recent days where 170 patients were left waiting for ambulances, paramedics were texted and urged to pick up extra shifts and hospitals experienced some of their busiest days ever.

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Australasian College for Emergency Medicine’s Queensland deputy chair Shantha Raghwan.

Metro South has been forced to postpone some elective surgeries for two days as Logan Hospital’s emergency department experienced its second busiest day on record on Monday when 363 patients presented for care, only slightly below its record of 368.

The Princess Alexandra’s ED recorded 223 patient presentations on Monday as paramedics made the unusual decision to leave to seek treatment elsewhere.

A Metro South health worker described Monday night as “Metro South’s busiest day in living memory” as doctors worried they were “missing things” among the chaos and nurses complained they were “buggered”.

But Ipswich, Cairns and Townsville hospitals and some on Brisbane’s north were also seeing exceptional demand.

Willow Barnes from Westcourt with her four-month-old son Kylo, who had to wait four hours to be seen at Cairns Hospital on Monday. Picture: Andreas Nicola

Queensland Health confirmed a number of EDs across Queensland “experienced extremely high demand for services” Monday as a spokeswoman apologised to patients who waited longer than normal.

“There was a notably large number of presentations for respiratory conditions, many of which would usually be treated by GPs,” she said.

“However, a shortage of GPs in a number of regions is placing pressure on the public health system.”

A high-level source said a refusal by GPs to treat people with respiratory illnesses in case they were Covid-positive was worsening the situation as people went to EDs as a last resort.

A tent outside Princess Alexandra Hospital in Woolloongabba on Monday. Picture: Liam Kidston

Dr Raghwan, who works in the southeast hospital network, said pressures were “only getting worse”, driven by low immunity to seasonal viruses, delayed care, a “massive increase” in mental health patients, an explosion of sick and injured kids and workforce issues.

“We used to run out of beds every now and then in winter, then it started happening a few times a month, then a few times a week to now being constant,” she said.

“We are straining to give patients the timely care they need – the care that we desperately want to give them – and we are worried about missing things amongst the current chaos.”

She said Covid was not the cause but “merely exposed and worsened existing issues”.

UWU national ambulance co-ordinator Fiona Scalon said SEQ ambulances spent 350 hours ramped on Sunday when the norm was between 150 and 200.

Ramping at Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital at Coopers Plains. Picture: Liam Kidston

Between 50 and 70 people were waiting for an ambulance at any one time on Monday, but that hit 170 by 11pm, when it would normally be about 20, she said.

Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union president Beth Mohle said her members were “pretty well buggered” and policy and funding solutions were needed.

“Everyone is really tired,” she said.

“That’s why we all need to pull together – all sectors of the health system.”

She said the pressures of the system were “in neon lights” and should feature more prominently in the federal campaign.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk blamed Covid, a lack of Commonwealth aged care and disability places and influenza but Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said she must stop shifting blame.

“If she (Premier) started listening to our frontline staff, she’d know there are solutions in place if the state government had the discipline to implement them,” he said.