Patients photographed sleeping on floor of Gold Coast University Hospital’s Emergency Department amid health crisis
Patients have been sleeping on the floor of a city emergency department. It’s also been revealed patients are spending years in the system because they can’t get the care they desperately need.
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
MORE than 100 patients are spending up to two years at Gold Coast hospitals because they are unable to get aged or extra care.
Gold Coast managers have told a parliamentary committee examining the statewide health service of the marathon waits for aged, mental health and disability patients before being discharged.
On Wednesday, the Bulletin published shocking pictures of patients asleep on the floor in the Emergency Department (ED) of Gold Coast University Hospital.
Hospital Allied Health and Rehabilitation Services executive director Sara Burrett told the parliamentary committee the hospital had more than 100 patients whose discharges had been delayed for various reasons.
Some patients were awaiting NDIS plan approval or review, or a supported accommodation living vacancy, a residential aged care bed, or help that would allow them to live at home.
“We have the Gold Coast Hospital, which is around 650 beds, and Robina Hospital, which is around 350 beds,” Ms Burrett said.
“We have a report that we look at fortnightly with patients who are in for over 35 days.
“We can see that we have a range of patients from 35 days up to and including sometimes two years.”
Ms Burrett admitted it was “safe to say we do not have enough beds across the HHS (health and hospital service)”.
The committee was told a person’s condition could deteriorate if they stayed longer in hospital, particularly for the aged, who lose muscle condition.
“We also know that their nutrition can sometimes be impacted and that causes issues with them going back home,” Ms Burrett said.
“That means we require more services to support them when they go home.”
The Coast hospital was also catering for northern New South Wales and rural Queensland residents, particularly trauma patients requiring rehab or with brain injuries.
Opposition health spokesperson Ros Bates said: “All of this was happening before Covid came to Queensland.”
“The Gold Coast is today short 420 beds and will rise to 731 beds by 2031,” she said.
“The LNP has been pressuring the State Government about the need for a new hospital on the northern Gold Coast.
“This region only has 1.87 beds per 1000 population, which is well behind the national rate of 2.5 beds per 1000 people.”
Ms Bates said doctors and nurses were doing a great job but frontline staff were exhausted.
Hospital Integrated Care Services acting program manager Karen Spence told the committee at its hearing last Thursday of increasing challenges with aged care.
“Patients are staying longer in nursing homes now. There are less beds that are becoming available.” she said.
“We make up for that by having beds in a nursing home called our interim care
beds. At the moment we have 16 or 17 beds there.
“Those patients are actually cleared by the medical staff and are just awaiting a nursing home position becoming available.
“It could be that the patient themselves wants to choose a particular nursing home and so they are waiting, or it could be that there are some financial things going on with them from families involved and things like that.
“But mostly that is about waiting on a nursing home becoming available within the Gold Coast.”
Ms Spence said there had been a problem with residents accessing GPs during the Covid pandemic, which was putting more pressures on public hospital EDs.
“There were problems over Christmas and the New Year,” she said.
“I think everyone was experiencing those problems.
“I think we have reports of people not able to access the GPs, and out of hours as well (it) becomes a problem for them.”
IN January, the hospital had 15,720 total presentations to its ED.
Of those, 4669 were ambulance presentations, which means about 11,000 were walk-ins.
Patients snapped on floor of emergency department
Earlier: Patients are sleeping on the floor and others are leaving a Gold Coast emergency department in disgust.
Photographs from the emergency department at Gold Coast University Hospital show the stark reality of what city leaders are calling the “perfect storm” of Covid-19, aged care and GP referrals.
Long-term Coast resident Shane Wyrzynski entered the ED about 3am on Sunday for scans after being king hit by a teenager during his shift as a security officer in Surfers Paradise.
“I was sitting there for eight hours,” Mr Wyrzynski said.
“The place is a pig sty.
“People can’t even charge their phones to call their relatives.”
Mr Wyrzynski said he saw a woman and four men sleeping on the floor. Staffers were unable to attend the cases or find a bed.
“There was a guy sitting up (on the floor). He got up, packed up his back pack and walked out. They need a homeless shelter for them,” Mr Wyrzynski said.
“One guy had been there from 2pm in the afternoon. This is an emergency department. I couldn’t believe it.”
Mr Wyrzynski said the staff were apologetic, some of them working massive hours.
“The staff were giving these people blankets. They were all apologetic, they’re understaffed and made to work double shifts,” he said.
A Gold Coast Health spokesperson told the Bulletin: “On Sunday morning, our emergency department was busy treating complex life-threatening cases, which involved large clinical teams.”
“Emergency department beds were available at this time,” they said.
“These pictures do not indicate a shortage of bed availability.
“It’s not unusual for our compassionate staff to offer patients blankets while they are waiting in chairs to be seen.”
Allied Health and Rehabilitation Services executive director Sara Burrett told a parliamentary health committee of the stresses on the system created by Covid, aged care referrals and patients not being able to access GPs during restrictions.
At an inquiry into health care at the Southport Sharks last Thursday, Ms Burrett told the committee: “For January 2022, we had 15,720 total presentations to our emergency
department. Of those, 4669 were ambulance presentations, which means roughly 11,000 were
walk-ins.”
Committee member, Southport MP Rob Molhoek asked Ms Burrett: “Where are we at with our local area needs assessment?”
Ms Burrett replied: “It is safe to say that we do not have enough beds across the HHS (hospitals and health services).”
“We are engaged in a number of different processes and planning activities in order to address that need,” she said.
Ms Burrett said the state government was funding $3 million to develop a plan for the Coomera hospital and health precinct.
“We are working through that planning process and, given the size and scale of the proposed facility, it will likely be five or more years before it is operational,” she said.
“We are planning for a hospital and health precinct. I do not think we are at the stage
yet of firmly determining what services we will have up there, but we are still in that planning stage.
“We also have a secure mental health unit that is well on its way in the planning process, and the Tugun satellite hospital project as well.”
Mr Molhoek asked what the time frame was for Tugun to be “operational”.
“With the Tugun satellite hospital project, we are up to talking about what kind of
taps we need so I think it is not too far off – 12 months, I would suggest, but I would need to confirm that,” Ms Burrett said.
In 2019, a Bulletin investigation revealed the city’s two public hospitals had 500 fewer beds than the national average.
The Australian Medical Association reported public hospitals across the country in 2018 had on average 2.6 beds for every 1000 people.
The Gold Coast’s average, with a population of 591,000, was just 1.69.
Mr Molhoek told the Bulletin the committee meeting confirmed the worst fears there were not enough hospital beds on the Coast and a “perfect storm” of stresses had hit.
“This is just another example of our health system being torn apart at the seams under Labor’s watch,” he said.
“The Labor government points to upcoming projects like the Health Centre at Coomera and the Satellite Hospital at Tugun and says that they will resolve the bed shortage.
“But the reality is, those beds are needed now, not several years down the track.”
Opposition Health Minister Ros Bates, at a media conference on Wednesday, said the health system has been in decline for the past seven years and the Government was not keeping up with population growth and demand.
“The number of Queenslanders shoved onto the waiting-list-for-the-waiting list has hit a record high of 245,000 patients,” Ms Bates said.
“Under this government ambulance ramping has soared, ED department wait times are through the roof and the surgery waiting lists have ballooned.
“All of this was happening before Covid came to Queensland. The Gold Coast is today short 420 beds and will rise to 731 beds by 2031.
“The LNP has been pressuring the State Government about the need for a new hospital on the northern Gold Coast.
“Our dedicated doctors, nurses, paramedics and allied health professionals are the ones holding our hospitals together while the State Government fails to properly resource them.
More Coverage
Join the conversation
‘F*** tha police’: Labor candidate’s posts come back to haunt her
Labor’s candidate in a marginal seat has been forced to apologise after her old social media posts criticising police emerged.
Read more
This selfish parking cheat is never going to be OK
Parking can be annoying at the best of times but this may be the worst part of it. WATCH THE VIDEO
Read more