Townsville University Hospital alerts public to intense Emergency Department pressure

Townsville residents have been urged to seek alternative care for non-life threatening conditions after the emergency department was inundated with patients Monday morning.

Stock Photo of The Townsville General Hospital: Emergency department with sign.

The first official day of school holidays has kicked off with a bang at least in the emergency department of the Townsville University Hospital, who were inundated with patients early Monday morning.

Health Service Chief Executive Kieran Keyes said he felt it was important to alert the community of the pressures the emergency staff were under, and suggested residents seek alternative treatment for non-life threatening injuries.

“We’ve actually come in today with 30 people in our department who are waiting to enter the inpatient ward,” he said.

“That situation isn’t common for us so it was important we alerted the community to the demand we were experiencing.

“One thing we’ve been dealing with not only here in Townsville but nationally has been an increase in numbers of people who are waiting for placement in residential aged care facilities.”

CEO of Northern Qld Primary Health Network Sean Rooney(left) and Health Service Chief Executive Kieran Keyes (right) at the front of Townsville University Hospital on June 24, 2024 as the emergency department experiences increased demand.

He said that those numbers meant there were less acute facilities for people who came through emergency.

“But that’s one of many factors this time of year, there’s been an increase in respiratory issues and they can be unpredictable,” Mr Keyes said.

The Chief Executive said the hospital expansions “couldn’t happen soon enough” as the staff were feeling the pressures of the increased demand.

“Mondays are routinely busy days for hospital and emergency departments but I guess what was different about today was the scale we had in the emergency department,” he said.

Mr Keyes said wait times were varied depending on the severity of each patients condition.

CEO of Northern Queensland Primary Health Network Sean Rooney re-emphasised to residents that the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic on 86 Thuringowa Drive in Thuringowa Central was available for urgent yet non-life threatening conditions.

The new Townsville Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is located at 86 Thuringowa Drive, Kirwan. Picture: Leighton Smith.

He said since it’s opening in December last year the clinic had seen 6500 patients, with an average of 43 per day with an average wait time of 30 minutes to two hours.

The Urgent Care Clinic is open from 11am to 9pm seven days a week including public holidays.

Originally published as Townsville University Hospital alerts public to intense Emergency Department pressure