Two-hour wait limit by Queensland Ambulance Service slammed by emergency doctors at Ipswich Hospital

Stressed-out emergency doctors are going to war with paramedics they say are operating a “dump and run” strategy triggered by a dire ramping problem at one of the state’s most overwhelmed hospitals.

A whistleblower has lifted the lid on claims paramedics are following a patient dump-and-run directive at one of the state’s most overwhelmed hospitals.

The source told the Sunday Mail that emergency medics at Ipswich Hospital were highly concerned for the safety of the sick and injured when ambulance officers reportedly announced this week they would spend only two hours with patients waiting for treatment.

The department is routinely clogged with patients in waiting rooms and lined up on trolleys in the corridors.

Damning figures released on Friday show this is a hospital under severe pressure with only 25 per cent of Category 1 patients, those with immediate life-threatening injuries, admitted to inpatient wards within four hours.

“It’s been a very stressful week for everyone in the ED,” the source said. “Staff were advised by the Queensland Ambulance Service supervisor about the two-hour time restriction. There is no space to leave anyone.

“Doctors and staff as well as paramedics are already overwhelmed and this kind of directive just puts extra pressure on them all, pitting good medicos against each other. Doctors and paramedics all want the best for the patients but the working situation is dire. Doctors finally blew up after a few days and demanded an end to the dumping of patients. They contacted their union for support.”

Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation Queensland (ASMOFQ) president Dr Hau Tan confirmed the issue was raised with the union by members.

“We are investigating it further,” he said. “We want to ensure that doctors and all frontline health workers are supported to do their jobs. Doctors and paramedics are clearly facing extremely difficult working conditions that limit their ability to provide the best possible health care for patients and the community. We will collaborate with the Australian Medical Association Queensland to find ways to alleviate the pressure on emergency departments.”

The new data shows that just 53 per cent of all patients at the hospital ED are seen within the clinically recommended time frame – well below the 74 per cent state average.

A lack of available space in other wards meant the remaining 75 per cent were left occupying ED beds for longer.

Australian Medical Association Queensland chief Prof Chris Perry said he was already worried about the mental health of emergency doctors and paramedics working under such difficult conditions.

“Accessing beds in hospitals is at the heart of this issue and our ‘ramping roundtable meetings’ are focused on finding solutions. It is a complex problem that needs a combination of investment and innovation,” Prof Perry said.

A Queensland Ambulance spokesman denied the two hour directive.

“QAS officers have not been directed to wait with patients for only two hours, though there is an agreed target of 30 minutes for patient handover. There are occasions when paramedics are required to be released to respond to emergent cases in the community and in these circumstances the patient has been triaged and is under the care and responsibility of hospital staff.”

Queensland Health said the demand for care at EDs is growing at an unprecedented rate and it was working to provide “short-term relief and long-term solutions”.