Queensland ambos lost nearly 13,000 hours waiting at EDs in January 2023

New data has revealed the startling time ambulances waited with patients to be admitted into hospitals, with a health union saying the figures prove one huge failing.

Queensland paramedics waited nearly 13,000 hours with patients outside emergency departments in January as new “lost-time” data reveals the scale of the state’s ambulance ramping issues.

The alarming figures that document the hours patients are waiting more than 30 minutes to be taken off the stretcher and into hospitals are also revealing of the time wasted by ambulance crews.

There were 12,744 hours lost in January alone across the Queensland hospital health services (HHS), which was nearly 2000 hours more than was reported in November, according to documents tabled to state parliament.

Ramping is a growing issue in Queensland. Picture: David Clark

When providing a response to accompany details about the growing ramping crisis, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said Queensland “has the busiest ambulance service in the country and is the only mainland state to provide ambulance services free at the point of use”.

But when The Courier-Mail contacted the minister’s office to ask if she was alluding to a suggestion the payment structure would be changed, a spokesman confirmed there was no plan to alter how the ambulance service was operated.

Time lost by paramedics was most significant in the Metro South HHS, with 4422 hours amassed in January at sites including Princess Alexandra, Logan, QEII Jubilee and Redland.

This was up from 4041 in December and 3228 in November.

The total hours lost in West Moreton HHS rose by nearly 400 hours between November and January to 1618, while the Gold Coast HHS jumped nearly 200 hours in the two months to 1032 in January.

Metro North HHS – which includes Royal Brisbane Women’s, Caboolture, Prince Charles and Redcliffe – had 2185 hours lost in January, which was only 10 hours more than December and down from 2327 hours in November.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said demand for health services had grown significantly. Picture: Dan Peled/NCA NewsWire

But Ms D’Ath said report on government services (ROGS) data showed the Queensland Ambulance Service had the second best-performing EDs last financial year, with 68 per cent of patients seen within recommended time, which was eclipsed only by NSW.

She said the increase in hours lost by paramedics was “reflective of an increase in

patient presentations to Queensland Health reportable hospital emergency departments”.

“Lost-time accounts for the time elapsed between the agreed patient off stretcher time (POST) target of 30 minutes and the time that a patient is transferred off the stretcher and into the care of the HHS clinical staff,” she said.

“This does not account for the clinical priority of the patient that is awaiting treatment.”

United Workers Union national ambulance co-ordinator Fiona Scalon said the ramping-related figures were revealing of the sector’s failure to cope with surges in demand at EDs and insufficient bed numbers.

“Ambulance ramping is a symptom of a hospital system not working,” she said.