Almost half of all GCUH patients not attended to in recommended time frame
The Gold Coast's health crisis is reaching dangerous new levels, as a staggering number of patients are left waiting longer than they should for much-needed help.
Gold Coast
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The city’s health crisis is reaching dangerous new levels with almost double the number of patients waiting longer for treatment in emergency departments than a year ago, warns the State Opposition.
Latest figures show 42 per cent of patients at Gold Coast University Hospital had not been attended to within the recommended time frame during the June 2022 quarter.
This is 19 per cent higher than the previous March quarter, the biggest rise at any hospital in the State.
Meanwhile, Robina Hospital experienced a rise of 13 per cent quarter to quarter, which means 29 per cent of ED patients were not seen within the clinically recommended time.
Gold Coast Health says every patient rated as life-threatening category 1 was seen on time, and more treatment areas were being opened up.
But Opposition leader and Broadwater MP David Crisafulli said the latest reporting times were another blow for Coast residents.
“Nearly one in two patients are now waiting longer than the recommended time in the emergency department at the Gold Coast University Hospital,” he said.
"The numbers on the Gold Coast are heading in the wrong direction and the State Government must start listening to heal the Queensland health crisis.”
A Gold Coast Health spokesperson said EDs saw an increase of 1120 more presentations in the 2022 financial year compared to the previous year.
In the April to June quarter, there were 48,894 ED presentations across the University Hospital and Robina.
"Every patient with a life-threatening Category 1 was presentation was seen within the clinically recommended time,” the spokesperson said.
Average wait time across all categories was 17 minutes with Category 1 presentations (life threatening) being seen within two minutes.
The median wait for Category 2 presentations (urgent but non-life threatening) was 11 minutes, against the clinically recommended 10-minute timeframe.
In June, an additional 10 treatment areas were opened up at the University Hospital ED to help meet demand and reduce wait times.
Airconditioned temporary structures were used at both hospitals to triage, isolate and treat COVID-19 patients.
"Our hospitals will not turn away anyone who presents at an ED, however our highly trained clinical staff will always attend to the sickest patients first," a spokesperson said.
"This means people with less serious ailments will need to wait longer than someone that has suffered major trauma or is seriously ill, regardless of whether they arrive by ambulance or via their own transport."
The Bulletin in a report in June detailed how less than 100 new hospital beds will become available in the next two years, despite the city’s health system in crisis.
Residents and visitors with mild symptoms were told to stay away from overflowing EDs.
The State budget showed the government would provide 600 new beds to the Coast, but 404 of them won’t exist until the Coomera Hospital was completed in 2028.
Seventy extra beds at Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) and just 20 beds at Robina Hospital will come online by the end of 2024, budget documents show.
Another 114 beds promised for Robina Hospital are subject to lease agreements.
In February, patients said they were sleeping on the floor while others had left the ED at the Gold Coast University Hospital due to the lack of beds.
The Bulletin had been sent photographs from a frustrated patient shocked during a marathon eight-hour wait at the ED after arriving at 3am on a Sunday.
Opposition health spokesperson Ros Bates on Tuesday told the Bulletin: “The Gold Coast already has the busiest emergency department in the country, and it’s only getting worse."
"These just aren’t numbers on a spreadsheet. This is your grandad with a broken hip, or a child having an asthma attack.
"As a registered nurse and former hospital administrator, I know how stressful it is for my colleagues on the frontline.
“These dedicated men and women are working double shifts week-in-week-out. They deserve more respect and resources from the State Government.”
‘Painful’ wait for dental care as wait list balloons
July 27: The Gold Coast has the worst waiting list for public dental patients in the State with a massive blowout in client numbers during the past seven years.
Opposition health spokesperson and Mudgeeraba MP Ros Bates estimates almost 150,000 Queenslanders are stuck on the public dental wait list, just another sign of the health crisis “biting patients hard”.
“The public dental waitlist on the Gold Coast has increased 178 per cent since 2015 and more than 11,000 locals are currently waiting for treatment,” Ms Bates told the Bulletin.
“This is just another example of the State Government failing to properly plan for Queenslanders.
“We all know how painful a toothache can be and for these Queenslanders, the waitlist only makes matters worse.”
The latest public health data shows 11,337 patients waiting on the Queensland Health list for dental work on the Coast, compared to 4072 in 2015.
The 178 per cent increase showcases the Coast as the worst region, followed by Roma-Toowoomba (138 per cent), Torres Strait and the Cape (132 per cent) and Cairns (83 per cent).
Some regions have recorded either a decrease in numbers or stabilised including Townsville (-2 per cent), Mackay (zero per cent) and South Brisbane (-5 per cent).
The LNP says Labor cannot blame Covid for the long waiting lists.
“While the embattled Health Minister blames Covid and patients for the hospitals crisis, it’s clear this rot set in well before the pandemic,” Ms Bates said.
“In 2016, Queensland Health treated 346,502 dental patients. In every year since then, they’ve haven’t come close to reaching that figure.
“This means few Queenslanders aren’t getting their teeth checked every year. That can cause even more long term problems for patients and the public health system.
“After three terms in power, the State Government can no longer deliver basic services for Queenslanders.
“Under Labor, elective surgery wait lists have soared, emergency departments are bursting at the seams, ambulance ramping is the worst in the country and now Queenslanders can’t see a dentist in a timely way.
“The Queensland Health Crisis isn’t just in our hospitals, but the dentist chair too.”
Gold Coast-based Palaszczuk Government Minister Meaghan Scanlon said the LNP was once again cherry-picking and politicking health, ignoring the fact close to 100 per cent of all patients have been seen within the clinically recommended time.
“Under Ros Bates and the LNP’s watch, nearly 50 per cent of Queenslanders wanting dental treatment waited more than two years to access dental treatment,” Ms Scanlon said.
“In June 2013, almost 39,000 people were waiting more than two years.
“Right now, thanks to the efforts of Queensland Health staff, there has been 4.7 per cent reduction in patients waiting for a dental check-up and general dental care than at the same time in 2021.
“The Palaszczuk Government is investing in multiple initiatives to ensure public access to dental care, including partnering with private providers and Queensland university dental schools.
“Wait times have vastly improved despite an increase in the number of people accessing public dental services, an ongoing pandemic, and a 30 per cent cut to public dental funding delivered by the former federal LNP government.
“The Morrison Government reduced funding to Queensland by approximately one-third, or $8.7 million, in 2021-22 under the Federation Funding Agreement – cuts that were never condemned by the Queensland LNP.
“While the LNP continue to play politics with health, we’ll continue to deliver a record health investment on the Gold Coast including the new Tugun Satellite Hospital, the $1.3 billion Coomera hospital and more beds.”
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