Queensland health crisis: Gold Coast hospital bed numbers ‘simply not enough’

A key nurse lobby group has branded the State Government “incompetent” after a shocking statistic about the Gold Coast’s two public hospitals was revealed.

A KEY nurse lobby group has branded the State Government “incompetent” after it was revealed the Gold Coast’s two public hospitals have 500 fewer beds than the national average.

The Bulletin has learned the Gold Coast University and Robina hospitals share 1000 beds between them, well down on other major cities in Australia.

GOLD COAST EMERGENCY WARD BUSIEST IN THE COUNTRY

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The Australian Medical Association last year reported public hospitals across the country had on average 2.6 beds for every 1000 people. The Gold Coast’s average, with a population of 591,000, is just 1.69.

Graeme Haycroft, the executive director of the Nurses Professional Association, said 1000 public hospital beds was simply not enough for the Gold Coast’s ballooning population.

“We are aghast at the incompetence, something as simple as planning for population increases has not happened,” Mr Haycroft said.

“The situation has gotten out of hand. What does the government think is going to happen when you double the population, but fail to double the number of hospital beds?

“You can’t just hope people will be healthier.”

FRONTLINE OF THE GOLD COAST’S EMERGENCY OVERLOAD

Nurses Professional Assoc of Qld exec director, Graeme Haycroft (AAP image, John Gass)

Mr Haycroft said the situation on the frontline at hospitals was dire.

“We have had nurses crying to us telling us this has been the situation for at least three years,” Mr Haycroft said.

“Your ED wards and admissions areas become like warzones. You have huge overcrowding, people are waiting for beds on couches and on chairs. You just have to shake your head.

“We already know the southern region is at least 500 beds short. If they got rid of three-quarters of bureaucrats we might be able to afford it.”

Nurses yesterday told the Gold Coast Bulletin the crisis had become so bad they had to treat patients in the corridors due to lack of beds and been asked to do double shifts on days off.

“We somehow just cope, “ said one nurse who admitted staff were exhausted.

Dr David Green, the medical director of emergency departments at Gold Coast Health, “categorically denied” the CPR hallway claims, saying “it is simply untrue”.

The comments came after the State Government this week said 10 hospitals in southeast Queensland were at capacity and unable to service the “unprecedented” number of patients walking through emergency department doors.

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QAS handing patient to the Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH). Picture: Jerad Williams

Health Minister Steven Miles said presentations to Gold Coast public hospitals had jumped 10 per cent on the same time last year. The government yesterday lifted the hospitals’ code yellow “capacity” rating.

However, frontline staff say the Gold Coast hospitals have been red-lining for 18 months.

“The issue has been that GCUH was not built with enough capacity to expand with our growing population,” a nurse told the Bulletin on Wednesday.

Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) President Dr Simon Judkins agreed more beds especially in the mental health system were needed to help ease the “symptom of system-wide dysfunction.”

“While we have been advocating for more beds as part of the solution, we also recognise that poor practices and processes throughout the hospital system need to be addressed to ensure we have systems which are effective, efficient and safe.”

“What we are seeing across the southeast Queensland health system is a symptom of system-wide dysfunction, poor system capacity, and inadequate inpatient flexibility to manage known demand, as well as the impacts of an ageing population with complex health demands, lack of access to respite and rehabilitation beds and the inability to discharge people back into community care, because the care isn’t available,” they said.

A spokesman for Gold Coast Health said the department would continue to take into account the city’s significant population growth.

“We have an operating budget of $1.494 billion in 2018-19, almost $103 million more than

the previous financial year.”