Mudgeeraba MP Ros Bates says Gold Coast needs at least 800 more hospital beds to keep up with demand

A Gold Coast MP has claimed almost 1000 beds are needed to ease the strain on the city’s hospitals – just days after the state government revealed it would fund less than three dozen.

• Next step for 148ha ‘eco-parklands’ for Coast
• Coast teen given $20k after finding ‘one-of-a-kind’ chip

A GOLD Coast MP has claimed almost 1000 beds are needed to ease the strain on the city’s hospitals – just days after the state government revealed it would fund less than three dozen.

A $165 million expansion of hospital beds announced by the state on Friday will fund 351 new beds across public and private hospitals statewide, to be in use by October.

But just 28 of those beds will be for the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast University Hospital. Picture Mike Batterham.

FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: JUST $1 A WEEK FOR THE FIRST 12 WEEKS

Meanwhile the Metro North region (including the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, the Prince Charles Hospital and Redcliffe Hospital) will get 68, West Moreton will get 57 and the Sunshine Coast will get 36.

The announcement came before Health Minister Yvette D’Ath faced Friday morning’s estimates hearings on the health system.

Mudgeeraba MP Ros Bates told the Bulletin outside parliament: “Of course 28 beds isn’t enough.

Mudgeeraba MP Ros Bates. Picture: Caitlan Charles

“I’ve been calling for 600 new beds for three years, and now we need 800 on the Gold Coast.

“The northern Gold Coast is one of the fastest growing areas and GCUH is the busiest emergency department in the country. Nurses and frontline staff are exhausted and the Labor government has no plan to ease their workload.”

The 351 beds have been labelled the equivalent of announcing a new hospital by the state government.

Ms D’Ath said the “significant investment” was a step in the right direction for better access to health care. “(It’s) making sure it is in the right place at the right time and we have the right models of care,” she told the hearing.

“The funding is also provided for initiatives to improve patient flow including enhancements to accessing emergency departments and expansion of the Surgery Connect program to free up internal capacity to respond to acute demand.”

Asked whether the 28 beds were enough Gold Coast Health CEO Ron Calvert said: “I think the money will do a lot of good for the Gold Coast.

“It will go a long way towards meeting the pressures that we are facing at the moment. It is important to understand the context of the pressures we are under at the moment, though.

“Covid has had a major impact on flow through the hospital, essentially because we have to reserve an area for patients with symptoms who could be Covid positive.

Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service CEO Ron Calvert. Picture: AAP Image/Darren England.

“Because of that there is obviously limited space in any emergency department. (I) cannot emphasise too much the impact Covid has had.

“The extra beds will be welcome. We are making plans for the long-term needs of our population.”

It follows new figures released by Queensland Health showing Gold Coast hospitals had reported a 66 per cent increase in emergency department patients in the last five years, rising from 161,380 to more than 286,600.

City hospitals also had a 31 per cent increase in surgeries in the same time span.

Follow @JournoBrenn