Queensland Audit Office reveals huge spike in ambulance and specialist doctor wait times

The number of Queenslanders waiting longer than recommended to see a specialist has surged 80 per cent in seven years, as a damning new audit exposes widespread issues in our health system.

• Special series: Health system in crisis

More than 100,000 Queenslanders are waiting longer than recommended to see a specialist doctor — a surge of 80 per cent in seven years — and ambulance officers spent more than 134,000 hours in a year sitting with patients on ramps at emergency departments.

The concerning reality of the state’s health system has been laid bare in the latest Auditor General report, who also flagged delays to the delivery of critical hospital bed and budget blowouts.

In the 2021/22 financial year, the number of long waits for specialist outpatient services — which is patients waiting to see a specialist doctor — surged by 80 per cent to about 104,000 people.

The disturbing spike adds another layer of concern to the ballooning elective surgery wait list which The Courier-Mail revealed this week rose to nearly 60,000, given the more than 100,000 waiting to see a doctor could further squeeze surgery delays.

Queensland Health introduced a new strategy in 2015 to improve management processes and allow patients to access treatment within clinically recommended time.

Auditor General Brendan Worrall has raised concerns about the health sector. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jono Searle

But the Queensland Audit Office said the total number of patients waiting to see a specialist in the last financial year was “significantly higher” than when the department introduced the Specialist Outpatient Strategy in mid-2015.

“In 2021–22, the total number of long waits increased by 80 per cent due to Covid-19 impacts on system capacity,” Auditor-General Brendan Worrall wrote.

The delays have also caused a knock-on effect to the ultra-long waiting list — where patients have waited more than two years for an initial specialist outpatient appointment — which Mr Worrall said would grow further if the backlog of wait times more broadly was not improved.

“Ultra-long waits continued to decrease until 2019, but have increased again over the last three years,” the Auditor General wrote.

“Of the 2481 patients waiting more than two years for an appointment as of 1 July 2022, there were none for category 1; 634 for category 2; and 1847 for category 3.

“The large increase in long waits and reduced system capacity will place pressure on ultra-long waits if specialities are unable to clear the backlog of long waits quicker than when new referrals come in.”

The pressure on the ambulance service soared in last financial year, according to a new report from the Queensland Audit Office. Picture: Mary-Ann Shapcott

Mr Worrall also noted the growing demand on the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS), including for the most urgent of patients.

“The time it takes ambulance crews to transfer patients into the care of emergency departments increased significantly in 2021/22,” he wrote in his audit into health services in Queensland.

“If patient transfer takes longer than 30 minutes, the extra time is considered ‘lost’ time for QAS.

“In 2021/22, QAS lost approximately 134,155 hours – a 20 per cent increase compared to 2020–21.”

A performance target for patient off-stretcher time to have 90 per cent of patients transferred into emergency departments was not achieved in the past eight years.

“The percentage of patients transferred off stretchers in less than 30 minutes has shown a significant downward trend in the past five years,” Mr Worrall wrote, noting the further pressure placed on the system from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has faced increased pressure over the past few years. Picture: Liam Kidston

“Hospitals have adopted new infection control measures, such as social distancing and

personal protective equipment, which have increased treatment time and affected patient flow.

“Several Queensland hospitals also provide Covid-19 fever clinics from their emergency departments.”

Health experts have warned authorities will struggle to improve ramping times and overstretched emergency departments without boosting the bed capacity in the system.

Mr Worrall said ageing health infrastructure needed to be replaced and expanded given the continual surge in the state’s population coupled with its ageing demographic.

But he warned the state government was unlikely to deliver on its commitments to deliver 2200 additional beds through building three new hospitals and expanding existing facilities, flagging delays and budget blowouts.

“The sector will face challenges in achieving the desired outcomes from the capital investment program, with current market conditions placing considerable pressure on costs and shortages in materials and labour creating risks around timing,” Mr Worrall wrote.

“Related operational costs will need to be included in future budgets to ensure these assets can be effectively and efficiently used.”