Qld health system under intense pressure from category-one patients
Thousands of patients with immediately life-threatening conditions flocked to Queensland emergency departments in a recent quarter.
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Queensland emergency departments received the largest number of patients with acute and urgent conditions in at least two years last quarter, with hospitals flooded with patients presenting life-threatening illnesses.
More than 4500 category-one patients – those described as having immediately life-threatening conditions – flocked to Queensland’s hospital emergency departments from October to December.
Newly released Queensland Health hospital performance data has showed this was a 12 per cent jump on the previous quarter – with every patient seen within two minutes.
The number of category-two and three patients also climbed, but almost a third of these were not seen within the recommended clinical time frame.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said health systems across the globe were under pressure.
“We have seen improvements in patient off-stretcher time, emergency department seen in time and the number of elective surgeries performed compared to the July-to-September quarter immediately prior,” she said.
“Despite an easing off in overall ED demand, we have seen a lift in demand in the most urgent and complex category one to three emergency department presentations.”
The Queensland Health performance data also showed the state’s ramping rate – the rate of patients waiting on a stretcher for more than half an hour – had slightly improved, but was still at 41 per cent.
There were 59,307 Queenslanders waiting for elective surgery, with more than 8600 waiting for longer than the recommended time.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli seized on the new figures, saying ambulance ramping in Queensland remained at crisis levels, and the 41 per cent rate was close to three times higher than the rate under the former LNP government.
“These new figures show sky-high ambulance ramping is entrenched in Queensland and this problem is not going away,” he said.
“(Former Labor) premier Anna Bligh described Queensland Health as a basket case when ambulance ramping was 30 per cent.
“This government is performing worse than that level and has been for years.
“Queenslanders everywhere need to be able to rely on a health system that will be there in their time of need.”
Australian Medical Association Queensland president Maria Boulton said she was concerned by the growing list of patients waiting for surgery.
“Patients are there for a reason, they’re either waiting for something like a hip replacement, or a knee replacement, or cataract surgery and they are not able to get on with their lives,” she said.
“If you’re waiting for a hip or knee replacement, you’re going to be in pain.
“By the time you get to being approved or wanting a surgery that’s because you’re in pain every day.
“So just because it’s not emergency surgery that doesn’t need to be done in the next 24 hours, that doesn’t mean it’s not urgent.”
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