Chronicle readers took to social media to vent their frustration at Toowoomba Hospital Emergency Department wait times

WHAT YOU SAID: News that an elderly man suffering heart failure waited on an ambulance stretcher for six hours at the Toowoomba Hospital brought back painful memories for past patients who took to social media to vent their frustrations.

Toowoomba Hospital Emergency Department wait times are in the news again. Photo: Bev Lacey

The news of an 88-year-old patient suffering heart failure waiting six hours on an ambulance stretcher while Toowoomba Hospital staff scrambled to find him a bed has resonated with Toowoomba Chronicle readers.

They took to social media to vent their frustration at long wait times with many blaming the overcrowding on lower category patients who could have waited to see a GP.

“I sat in that Emergency Department with a partially collapsed lung for five hours and saw people going in there for drinking so much they made themselves almost unresponsive, a pregnant chick had nausea, a chick got slapped in the face by another chick and her cheek was red and a parent brought their kid in ‘because he has a cold’,” Kylie Houston.

“No wonder the wait times are bloody disgusting, people have no clue.”

“People with very minor health problems are sitting in the ED clogging up the system,” Emma Bell said.

“Make an appointment and go to the doctor and let the real emergencies through.

“Go to the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic during the day instead of the ED at the hospital.”

“Such a lack of planning for services for the future,” Toowoomba councillor Carol Taylor said.

“Where have the considerable mining royalties gone”

The 88-year-old man was suffering from complications related to heart surgery and arrived at the hospital via an ambulance about 8am.

While he was quickly removed from the ambulance vehicle, he remained on a stretcher in the ED hallway for another six hours before he was admitted to the hospital.

He was later transferred to the Princess Alexandra Hospital where he stayed for about a week.

Despite the ramping delay, the man’s family praised the hospital staff’s professionalism.

Chronicle readers were equally supportive of the staff.

“I spent 27 hours in the ED in June because there was no bed for me in the critical care or high care wards,” Jen Neal said.

“Apart from trying not to die I was worrying about taking up the bed for that long.

“Watching and listening to the staff and the volume that came through it was incredible.

“It is absolutely insane that we have the population we do with limited resources.”

Many called for more investment in beds, services and infrastructure from the Queensland Government.

“Wow, so sorry for the family, but unfortunately it will keep happening until someone has some common sense and gives the doctors and staff the beds they need,” Rob Sims said.

“I was in the ED on Tuesday after a car crash, there were patients everywhere, the staff were fantastic and so were the paramedics, I could not praise them enough,” Nadine Hodges said.

What do you think should be done to fix wait times at the Toowoomba Hospital? Let us know in the comments below.

Originally published as Chronicle readers took to social media to vent their frustration at Toowoomba Hospital Emergency Department wait times