Right To Information request reveals police held up for days guarding prisoners in hospitals
Steven Miles has dismissed a secret document that reveals police resources are being wasted helping other stretched government services.
Police & Courts
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Police are being held up for days in hospitals guarding prisoners, left for hours in waiting rooms and made to ramp alongside ambulances with injured or mentally ill people in patrol cars in a show of Queensland’s chaotic and overstressed frontline services.
A spreadsheet collated by officers in the Brisbane region, obtained by The Courier-Mail, lists three years of occasions when police were kept from their normal duties because other frontline services were too busy to take over.
Premier Steven Miles said police being tied up at hospitals was “part of their job”.
“Well, it is their job, it’s part of their job,” he said.
“Hospital workers and police work together.
“Sometimes that does mean that police have to spend time at the hospital to keep our hospital workers safe while ensuring that those in custody get the healthcare that they need.”
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman also said it was “the job” of police to be required to offer support to patients at hospital, particularly those with psychosis or in serious mental health distress.
“They’re there to not just look after the patients of course, they’re also there sometimes to make sure our staff in our hospitals are safe as well as other patients,” she said.
“And of course, we know at times our hospitals do get very busy and our very experienced doctors and nurses triage those cases for those patients that need to be seen first.
“But it is really important that police, as a frontline service, are involved with our ambulance service and our hospitals - particularly for those patients who may have come from prison and need health care, or also those patients who are experiencing extreme distress and mental ill health.”
Ms Fentiman also revealed a number of conversations with Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll about how beat police were facing an increasing number of call-outs related to mental health.
“I do know that Queensland Police are investing heavily in mental health training,” she said.
“It is definitely part of their job these days. The Police Commissioner was actually telling me this after she’d been out on a shift - she said the thing that had changed in the last 20 years since she was a cop on the beat was that almost all the call outs had a mental health element.”
Ms Fentiman also pointed to a rollout of co-responder models over the past few years, which was due to be expanded.
“The big hospitals that have been mentioned in this spreadsheet, in the last performance data, have seen more and more people presenting, but actually they’re treating people with the recommended time frame,” she said.
But pressed on the inside information showing sometimes ambulances didn’t even show up, the Health Minister conceded it wasn’t good enough.
“We have invested in an additional 200 paramedics, just this financial year, they’ve all been employed and they’re all on the front line,” she said.
On one occasion, in December 2022, police spent six days guarding a prisoner at a Brisbane hospital because Queensland Corrective Services could not spare the staff.
Police officers remained at the Princess Alexandra Hospital for four days on another occasion that same month because a prisoner who needed surgery had the procedure cancelled, rescheduled and cancelled again.
Another entry on the spreadsheet revealed a mentally ill person was kept in a police vehicle for eight hours in June, 2022, while officers were ramped alongside ambulances at Redlands Hospital.
And in another example, police called Queensland Ambulance Service for help in sedating a suicidal patient but were told there were no crews available because 42 ambulances were ramped waiting for hospital beds.
“Half the QAS fleet unavailable due to ramping,” the entry, dated June 22, 2022, stated.
On another occasion, in April, 2022, police who were with a patient at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital were asked to drive the person to Logan Hospital instead.
“Staff were less than supportive,” the spreadsheet noted.
“Officers explained this was not possible.
“It appeared at this time that RBWH staff were then deliberately delaying the officers.
“At one point nursing staff stated that police could have driven to Logan and back during the time they had been delayed at the RBWH and the staff were not helpful.
“Eventually a different nurse accepted the (patient).
“It should be noted that City only had one car on shift and the crew who transported the (person) to the hospital was the Beat crew. Valley also had minimal staffing.”
Another incident involving the RBWH was logged on March 10, 2023, involving a mentally ill person.
“Hospital staff refuse to sign and receive (the) subject into care,” the entry read.
“Hospital staff attempted to utilise police as security until 5am due to alleged unavailability of security.
“(Police) navigated a difficult conversation with head nurse and subject received into care of hospital.”
Police were also kept at the Princess Alexandra Hospital for 24 hours performing guard duties because a court hearing could not go ahead.
“There are no courts available until midday as they are all full,” the entry read.
“Continued prisoner guard by QPS due to courts full and hospital full.”
On June 20, 2022, police went to the Sandgate train station after a suicidal man called from a payphone asking for help.
With no ambulance available, police took the man to the Prince Charles Hospital for a mental health admission.
“They got ramped for three and a half hours,” the entry stated.
And yet another entry described a patient suffering a mental health episode who was taken twice to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in one night.
The entry, from October 2022, said the patient was taken to hospital by police and paramedics at 11pm but released soon after.
Police and paramedics were called again to help the man in the early hours of the morning.
“PA stated that they were refusing (the person) entry to that hospital even though it was in their catchment area,” the document stated.
“QPS and QAS then stood at scene for approximately one and a half hours while Logan (Hospital) and PA argued with each other over who would take the subject.”
The document, called the Brisbane Region Interagency Development Register, was released under Freedom of Information following a months-long process that involved an appeal to the Information Commissioner.
It includes entries from 2020 until midway through 2023. It is understood the document is not a complete list of instances where police have been held up.
LNP MP and former detective Dan Purdie said the government had “lost control” over frontline services.
“Police numbers continue to fall and officers are being stretched even further to plug holes in other short-staffed services, meaning they’re not available to get out there and fight crime,” he said.
“Unfortunately, it’s another example of the longer Labor are in power, the worse Queensland’s youth crime crisis gets.”
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said: “These documents reveal how Labor’s decaying services impact community safety, but Queenslanders will be just as concerned to learn (the government) fought harder on hiding the truth … instead of focusing on fixing the problem.”
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said demand for policing services in a range of areas including mental health incidents, Domestic and Family Violence, youth crime and general calls for service had “increased exponentially”.
Ms Carroll said the QPS worked closely with other agencies to address “challenges” and improve service delivery.
“The QPS regularly reviews a range of issues including service demand, available resources, officer safety, emerging crime trends and population growth to ensure optimum service delivery across Queensland,” Ms Carroll said.
“From time to time, systems will be placed under pressure during peak demand periods and it is important to record these instances and raise issues across agencies to increase efficiencies and enhance practices.”
A Queensland Health spokesperson said the state’s hospitals were busier than ever with “sustained increases” ED presentation numbers and more complex health issues.
The spokesperson said while patients arrive at EDs in different ways, they were all triaged based on clinical need.
“We understand it is not ideal for patients to have to wait for admission to a bed when demand is extremely high, and alternate bed arrangements may be made at times depending on the situation and patient needs,” the spokesperson said.
“We are committed to working collaboratively with other agencies, including QPS, to ensure patient health and safety.”
The spokesperson said this financial year, a record $25.8 billion investment was being made to the health and hospital system, including $764 million to address ambulance ramping and healthcare pressures that contribute to emergency department wait times.
A spokeswoman for QCS said they work closely with police to co-ordinate the transfer of prisoners from police custody, including from hospitals, in a timely manner.
“The safe and secure operation of our centres is the priority,” she said.
Under legislation, QCS has 21 days to receive a prisoner from police custody.
EDITED EXAMPLES
APRIL 29, 2022
Six-hour wait
Police required to take patient suffering “personal trauma” to hospital. Queensland Health advises wait times are at least six hours at Princess Alexandra and Prince Charles hospitals and at least five hours at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Ipswich General has 36 ambulances ramped and Redlands Hospital is full.
July 10, 2022
Two-hour wait
District duty officer was advised crew has been waiting one hour (so far) with a mentally ill patient.
Crew advised to regularly inquire of the triage nurse of updates or options … and to request patient be brought into the hallway instead of the rear of the police pod.
1.55pm: Arrived at Redlands Hospital (with mental health patient).
The nurse at station said “you haven’t got someone for us” and was not happy.
Was advised crew would have to keep the patient in the back of the police pod.
3pm: Doctor saw patient in back of police pod.
3.40pm: Doctor got a room for patient and requested police to remain.
3.50pm: Patient handed over.
July 11, 2022
Two-hour wait
Temporary hospital guard required at RBWH. Extensive delays experienced at the hospital due to ramping. There are currently four corridors of QAS and police awaiting triage.
October 7, 2022
Unknown wait
Mentally ill person taken to Redlands Hospital. Advised by triage nurse there would be an eight-hour wait before patient could be assessed and that no beds were available.
Police began driving patient to Logan Hospital instead but were informed patient would not be accepted unless Redlands Hospital was specifically on divert.
Police were directed to return to Redlands Hospital. Police district duty officer attended and negotiated for the patient to be accepted, with hospital security maintaining custody.
March 10, 2023
Four-hour wait
Police request undertakers to Newmarket to remove a body.
Extensive delays experienced with traffic conditions provided as the reason for the delay.
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