Qld politics: Tim Nicholls denies Mark Bailey access to hospitals

Health Minister Tim Nicholls has denied the Opposition health spokesman access to hospitals, saying it’s because he visits too often.

Princess Alexandra Hospital’s spinal injuries unit was one of the facilities Opposition health spokesman Mark Bailey was denied access to.

Health Minister Tim Nicholls has denied the Opposition health spokesman access to Queensland hospitals, saying it’s because he visits too often.

Mark Bailey says Mr Nicholls must have something to hide as he denied him access to Bundaberg Hospital, Ipswich Hospital and the Princess Alexandra Hospital’s spinal injuries unit in the past three weeks.

It is believed that previous health ministers under Labor did not ban opposition counterparts from visits to the state’s facilities but enforced Queensland’s Health regulation that a seven-day warning is given in the lead-up.

But Mr Nicholls has hit back, saying Mr Bailey has had “extraordinary” access, visiting 71 hospitals in just 151 days, but recent increased requests had become unmanageable.

An Opposition spokesman said: “Under Labor, briefings and access to health facilities were given to members of the opposition.

“If this process is not being honoured in good faith, that would be the opposite of a transparent government and at odds with what (Premier) David Crisafulli has told Queenslanders.”

Mr Bailey said Mr Nicholls’ decision was stopping him doing his job.

“I am trying to familiarise myself with the goings-on in hospitals and for no reason I am being blocked. What does Mr Nicholls have to hide?” Mr Bailey told The Courier-Mail.

“I give the required seven-day notice and then find myself getting a no-access email on the day that I hoped to visit.

Opposition health spokesman Mark Bailey

“It smacks of a deliberate attempt to cause frustration.”

Mr Bailey said he was particularly disappointed to have been turned away from the spinal injuries unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, which is undergoing a multimillion-dollar upgrade.

“It was Labor that announced the $30m investment into improving services for spinal injuries patients. It is a big project … to provide 249 new beds. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t interested in how that build was going,” Mr Bailey said.

A Courier-Mail investigation in 2023 uncovered horror stories from past patients at the Brisbane facility, where paralysed and vulnerable patients were left to lie in their own faeces, made to sit naked in front of other patients and subjected to aggressive bowel treatments.

Mr Nicholls said Mr Bailey visited the PA Hospital on December 2 last year and “should have sought an update” then.

“Recent visit requests have increased in frequency and have included large groups of MPs in attendance,” he said.

“The number, nature, and frequency of these visits are becoming an unreasonable burden on our health and ambulance services and our hardworking staff.”

The Minister’s office said Mr Bailey wrote to seek approval to visit the Ipswich Hospital on April 4, 2025.

Before receiving a response, Mr Bailey and members of the opposition visited the hospital on April 2 without notice and with camera crews in tow, to the surprise of hospital staff.

Health Minister Tim Nicholls