Calls for immediate action to cut waiting times at Logan Hospital

Logan City Council has called for action at Logan Hospital after allegations of ramping and patients being treated in corridors. But there was no evidence of either when Health Minister Steven Miles visited to welcome 40 medical interns on Friday.

LOGAN City Council has called for immediate action to rectify waiting times at Logan Hospital after this week’s revelations of ramping and patients being “dumped” in corridors.

But there was no evidence of either when Health Minister Steven Miles visited the hospital to welcome 40 medical interns on Friday.

Council wrote to Mr Miles in November asking him to act before predictions of a 103-bed shortage at the hospital came true in 2021.

Deputy Mayor Trevina Schwarz said Logan’s health services were not keeping up with demand from the city’s booming population and urged the minister to finalise upgrades immediately.

“Logan Hospital is one of the most in-demand in Queensland with upwards of 88,000 admissions to the emergency department each year,” Cr Schwarz said.

“Queensland Health’s own data shows that the hospital is the worst in the state for waiting times.

“The number of patients and the services they require will only continue to grow however Building Queensland say they are still developing a business case for the Logan Hospital expansion.”

Mr Miles said the new 40 interns would be an asset to the hospital, but he also admitted the hospital faced “challenges” due to the rapid population growth in Logan, socio-economic status of the community and the indigenous population.

Health Minister Steven Miles and some of the new interns at Logan Hospital.

“All mean that this is one of the most rewarding places to deliver health services,” he told the group as they started Day 1 of training. “Taking care of people who need it the most is rewarding.

“There is no secret that the population in this area is growing and that’s putting pressure on the hospital.

“This is why we are investing $280 million to expand the hospital with a detailed design phase already under way and construction expected to start next year.

“We do need to expand and redevelop the hospital and that’s exactly what we’re working on.

“People can also be assured that staff here take care of every single patient and deliver the care that they need in the place that they need it.”

He said health was the state government’s largest area of spending with $18 billion on public health this financial year and $1.5 million would be invested in overhauling the existing courtyard of the hospital’s Emergency Department.

That area would be used by mental health workers to deliver appropriate, safe and personalised treatment for patients who presented to the Emergency Department.

Minister Steven Miles with new doctors, from left, Dr Brendan Cooper, Dr Crishna Kumar, Dr Claire Rose and Dr Natalie Baptista with Nurse Unit Manager Kate Coulter, Logan radiographer Des Hardman and Macalister MP Melissa McMahon. PHOTOS: JUDITH KERR

Nurse unit manager Kate Coulter said the interns, many of whom moved from north Queensland, would help to alleviate some of the pressure on demand for services at the hospital.

Logan Hospital came under fire on Thursday after claims of ambulance ramping and mental health patients being treated in corridors because of the lack of available beds.

This is a photo taken on Thursday, January 10, 2019 of ambulances outside Logan Hospital.

Intern Dr Brendan Cooper, who lives in Logan, said he was pleased to have been selected to study at Logan, his hospital of first preference.

His colleague Dr Claire Rose said Logan had a good reputation for training junior doctors and intern Dr Crishna Kumar said the diverse patient demographics made studying there interesting.

The new cohort of junior doctors will spend the next six days training in preparation for starting their careers as doctors and will be based at the hospital for a year.

The Mental Health Clinical Decision Unit development at Logan Hospital will undergo tendering and the design phase so it will be ready by the end of this year or early 2020.

Logan Hospital is under pressure as the local population grows.