Patients reveal stories of mixed care at Ipswich Hospital as ambulance ramping worsens

The sometimes shocking, occasionally wonderful reality of attending Ipswich Hospital as a patient has been revealed, as emergency department wait times exceed 10 hours and ambulance ramping worsens across the state.

Hundreds of Ipswich residents have shared their experiences – some shocking, some tragic, some brilliant – with their city’s only public hospital amid claims Queensland’s ambulance ramping crisis is going from bad to worse.

A local woman who asked not to be named said she has dealt with Ipswich Hospital frequently in recent years, as both of her parents have come to require “extra attention”.

“My mother particularly has had recurring bouts of extremely high blood pressure where they would keep her overnight sometimes to adjust her medications then send her home,” the woman said.

“Most times it took a few hours to see a doctor. On one occasion she was ramped for two hours beforehand.”

But the woman said one of her parents’ most significant experiences with the hospital came after her 79-year-old mother had a “bad fall” at home and it took paramedics close to two hours to arrive by ambulance.

Girl silhouette generic.

After being taken to the hospital, she said her mum had to wait another seven hours in the emergency department – sitting in a wheelchair with her leg on a chair – to see a doctor.

“She was asked if she was breathless at all, which she said yes because her leg was black and blue and they had only given her a Panadol for pain relief,” the woman said.

“(They) told her she would be put in a ward with Covid-positive patients but taken out if she was negative to a RAT test.”

The Ipswich woman said that despite returning a negative result after taking a rapid antigen test, she was left in a ward with Covid-positive patients beside her for an entire night.

“This caused so much stress to us as a family,” she said.

“As on top of everything we now had to monitor her for symptoms and she was home with my 80-year-old unvaxxed (sic) dad.”

Ipswich Hospital

The woman’s claims were echoed by dozens of other Ipswich residents, with many sharing their stories of the care – or perceived lack thereof – they received at Ipswich Hospital on a recent Facebook post shared by The Queensland Times.

One man, Ross Jimmy Ferguson, wrote he waited six hours “with a piece of steel in my eye” at the hospital before eventually leaving at 2am without being seen.

“(I) waited until Oxley Medical Centre was open,” Ross Jimmy Ferguson wrote on Facebook.

“Ipswich Hospital rang me at 9am asking if I still needed to see them.”

Another former patient, new mum Alicia Reiter, wrote her last experience at the hospital was “absolutely ridiculous”.

“Waited 11 hours after giving birth to get my third degree tear fixed while still being expected to take care of my newborn and go to the toilet while excessively bleeding with an open wound!” she wrote.

Another Facebook user said she waited 10 hours in the emergency department for what turned out to be an ectopic pregnancy. She said she was told she was not pregnant and sent home, where her fallopian tube later “burst”.

Ambulances ramped at Ipswich Hospital. Picture: Facebook / David Crisafulli MP

The shocking tales from former Ipswich Hospital patients were met on social media with comments from others who had polar opposite experiences commending staff for their commitment in the face of criticism.

One Ipswich woman wrote she had “nothing but praise” for the doctors and staff at the hospital.

“Yes there may be delays and a wait sometimes,” Noreen Gracie wrote.

“They do prioritise the urgency of people’s needs. It’s the system, not the hospital or staff’s fault.”

Another woman wrote she had recently attended the hospital’s emergency department and “couldn’t fault” her experience.

“I went into emergency (and) was seen within an hour,” Nicole Hooker wrote.

“Maybe because my condition could have been life threatening, but still, I was seen to and treated promptly. Had blood tests within one hour and admitted within two.”

Ipswich Hospital. No byline

A number of people suggested some patients may have experienced long wait times at the hospital because their ailments did not warrant emergency attention.

“Never had an issue with (the hospital) or their staff,” Shelley Roche wrote.

“Maybe if people didn’t overload emergency with non-emergency issues then the waiting times would be better. Stubbing your toe or you have (a) toothache doesn’t count.”

Former Ipswich Hospital staff have also spoken out in response to claims of excessive wait times, with one woman saying the emergency department is “chronically underfunded”.

“It’s often the busiest ED in (Queensland),” a former worker wrote on Facebook.

“I had my life threatened on more than one occasion by patients when I worked there.

“Working there definitely traumatised me and many others.”

A new Acute Mental Health Unit is currently underway on Chelmsford Ave, which is expected to relieve pressure on the Ipswich emergency department when it opens early next year. Picture: File

Last month, statistics revealed Ipswich Hospital had the third highest off-stretcher waiting time average of all major public hospitals in southeast Queensland.

West Moreton Health representatives have said this is at least in part due to the speed in which Ipswich’s population is growing and the high volume of presentations to the hospital’s emergency department.

“We are also seeing more patients present with complex conditions, both as a percentage of the growing population and due to Covid-19,” a West Moreton Health spokeswoman said.

“This means our ED doctors and nurses need to spend more time with each seriously ill patient they treat, and our administrative staff need to process more admissions to the wards.

“Covid-19 screening and testing requirements also slow the patient journey through ED, but this work is extremely important in keeping the most vulnerable members of the community safe.

“All of this – and our commitment to attending to the most seriously ill and injured patients first – leads to longer wait times.”

A new healthcare facility will soon be built on a 2.7-hectare site in South Ripley’s Providence housing. Picture: File

The spokeswoman said West Moreton’s frontline staff appreciate the patience of those who wait in the emergency department while other patients are seen to.

She said West Moreton Health and its clinicians were continuing to work with the region’s GPs, Queensland Ambulance Service, Queensland Police Service, and private healthcare partners to manage demand and patient flow issues.

The construction of a new public healthcare facility at Ripley South — which is expected to begin this year — will also go some way toward addressing the increasing needs of the Ipswich community, providing treatment of minor injuries and illnesses as well as community and outpatient services.

Originally published as Patients reveal stories of mixed care at Ipswich Hospital as ambulance ramping worsens