‘Patients are at risk now’ claims Burnett MP

Stephen Bennett has claimed the Queensland Health Minister does not care about the reality facing patients in Bundaberg hospitals.

Burnett MP Stephen Bennett called out the state government in parliament.

A question from Burnett MP Stephen Bennett triggered some heated debate in the Queensland parliament on Wednesday.

Mr Bennett addressed Health Minister Yvette D’Ath in Question Time, asking her what was being done to help Bundaberg patients as ramping and wait times continued.

“Doctors from the Bundaberg Hospital revealed a shortage of beds and the emergency department has become an unsafe place for staff and patients under the Palaszczuk government,” he said.

“What action has the Minister taken to support staff and guarantee patient safety at the Bundaberg Hospital?”

The question raised little noise from the room, until the Minister began her reply.

Ms D’Ath began her response to Mr Bennett by encouraging him to read the state government’s Health and Hospital plans, which “outlines the 2509 new beds and included the new hospital at Bundaberg”.

Many in the room responded to her statement with “hear, hear” prompting calls for order.

“I’ve got copies,” she said, brandishing the document while the room erupted around her.

The hospital, which recently celebrated the construction of its entry road, is several years away from welcoming its first patient.

Ms D’Ath continued by saying “the Member for Burnett who still hasn’t caught up to that fact, or is deliberately misleading the people I’ll let the public decide”.

She said she was proud of the “almost” $10 billion invested in three new hospitals and 11 expansions across the state.

“What are we doing to support staff? What are we doing to support beds?” she asked.

“We’ve got an almost $10 billion plan to expand beds, we (will be) employing 9475 extra front line health workers in this term of government.”

She claimed that had the LNP been elected three years ago the health worker numbers would have been cut by the thousands.

LNP MP Andrew Powell questioned the relevance of Ms D’Ath’s response to the Member’s question.

19 APRIL 2023: Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath during Question time at Queensland parliament in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

“The question was not about a hospital that will be built in half a decade to a lower standard than promised,” he said.

Mr Bennett has claimed the Health Minister is more concerned about how the health situation in Bundaberg looks than how it affecting patients in real time.

“The Health Minister has chosen to ignore serious claims from doctors regarding people‘s safety at the Bundaberg Hospital,” he said in a press statement following parliament.

Mr Bennet has claimed the Health Minister’s response was “spin” and did not address his question head-on.

“We need to know what actions are being taken now, not decades in the future. Patients are at risk now,” he said.

“These serious revelations aren’t the fault of our hardworking doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.”

Ms D’Ath’s office was contacted for a comment in response to the question time and Mr Bennett’s claims his question was ignored.

The Principal Media Advisor said the Minister’s comments in parliament stood for themself.

Originally published as ‘Patients are at risk now’ claims Burnett MP