Gold Coast health: Rations crackdown at Gold Coast Hospitals sparks outrage from staff with patients ‘put at risk’

Nurses at the Gold Coast’s busiest hospitals say they are reaching into their own pockets to buy food for patients after a rations crackdown by health fat cats.

NURSES say they are reaching into their own pockets to buy food for patients after a rations crackdown by health fat cats.

The Bulletin has learned some patients are even ordering Uber Eats to their hospital bed because they were left hungry.

Gold Coast Health has swapped hot meals for a sandwich in the short-stay and clinical-decisions units at the Gold Coast University and Robina hospitals.

“An elderly gentleman was in here for two days and all he ate the entire time was a lousy sandwich each meal time,” a senior nurse said.

“We get a lot of mental health patients and sometimes they’re really agitated, so a meal and a cup of tea calms them down a bit, but now we have nothing to offer them, so we have these patients who are cranky as hell.”

WAIT TIMES GROWING AT COAST HOSPITALS

Gold Coast University Hospital is one of two Gold Coast hospitals which has stopped offering hot meals on some wards. Picture: Glenn Hampson

MASS WALKOUT AT COAST EMERGENCY ROOM

Since January, patients are being offered a single sandwich for lunch and dinner, and a sandwich, cereal and yoghurt for breakfast.

Previously, staff could request a hot meal for each patient, including children’s options, as well as sandwiches for snacks for those who missed meal times.

The computer system used for logging special dietary requests has also been unavailable for about three weeks, staff say.

Frustrated staff at Robina Hospital said they had raised their concerns with the health service for weeks, but have not seen action.

“This is not a Third-World country,” a senior nurse, who did not want to be named, said. “We need to provide food for our patients … it’s part of the Health Charter.”

Some patients are order Uber Eats.

Patients of all ages stay in the wards, mostly for eight hours or less. However, staff said elderly people who had suffered falls, domestic violence victims, and sick kids with their parents, can stay up to three days on occasions.

The wards treat patients with minor trauma, infections, intravenous antibiotics or awaiting test results.

At Robina Hospital, the wards hold a total of 16 adult beds and four paediatric beds.

Recently, a concerned nurse took it upon herself to buy a meal from the hospital canteen for an elderly diabetic patient after staff were allegedly told by the kitchen that they had met their “quota” for sandwiches that day, and could not be given more.

Staff feared the patient could go into a diabetic coma if they did not eat.

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Staff said patients are cranky and could be being placed at risk because of the new menu.

“There was one person that was vegetarian that we tried to get a meal for and they were given a ham sandwich.”

For many patients, buying their own food was not an option, she said.

“Many are brought to hospital by ambulance — often they don’t have their belongings with them, their purses, wallets, phones.”

A spokeswoman for Gold Coast Health yesterday insisted hot meals and special dietary requirements were still provided, if patients asked for them. “The option to order additional meals has always been available to short-stay patients,” the spokeswoman said.

Gold Coast Health contacted the Bulletin last night to say it had changed its position: “Gold Coast Health acknowledges the concerns raised by patients and staff, and has taken immediate steps to reverse the change,” a Gold Coast Health spokeswoman said.

Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates said she had also received concerning complaints from locals and was in the process of following them up.

“It’s hard to believe that (Health Minister) Steven Miles is penny pinching by rationing food for patients, while wasting money changing the names of hospitals,” she said.

“Thankfully, the Gold Coast Health Service has committed to fixing the problem.”