Qld hospitals operating with million-dollar maintenance backlogs | FULL LIST

The state’s busiest hospitals are crumbling under escalating maintenance bills which have reached nearly $1 billion, recent government data shows. | FULL LIST

Redland Hospital’s new carpark was built this year. The hospital was listed as requiring $27.77 million in maintenance upgrades. Picture: Judith Kerr

Startling figures released this week show more than 100 hospitals have multimillion-dollar holes in their maintenance budgets.

The worst was Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital which was more than $184 million behind in its maintenance spending including on toilets and walkways.

Redland, Logan, Beaudesert, Caboolture and Ipswich hospitals all had massive maintenance spending lags, which the state government partly blamed on delaying scheduled maintenance works.

The data showed some of the state’s busiest hospitals were shouldering escalating maintenance bills which recent government data showed totalled nearly $1 billion.

Data released last week showed 89 of the state’s 106 reporting hospitals required multimillion-dollar maintenance works for projects, ranging from minor upgrades to major overhauls.

The data showed the backlog of hospital maintenance work had blown out by $100 million over the past two years, rising from $888.97 million in July 2021 to $997.81 million in June.

But the state government said the figures “did not necessarily” mean there was a large backlog of maintenance that had “fallen behind” as risk assessments had prioritised the most urgent works.

Princess Alexandra Hospital, Queensland’s second busiest metropolitan hospital, was recorded as needing $178.93 million.

Toowoomba Hospital was also high on the list, requiring $61.69 million.

The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital at Coopers Plains had $51.72 million in outstanding maintenance projects and the embattled Caboolture Hospital was also in the top 10, requiring $39.73 million.

Regional hospitals’ maintenance programs were also in the red.

Redland Hospital requires $27.77 million in maintenance upgrades and its larger neighbouring counterpart, Logan Hospital, needs $26.36 million.

Redcliffe Hospital, which was earmarked last year for a $1 billion expansion program, is listed as needing $12.5 million for maintenance while Ipswich needs $10.26 million, Nambour $8.36 million and the Gold Coast $30.3 million.

Other notable hospitals included the Townsville University Hospital with a requirement of $28.13 million and the Queensland Children’s Hospital with $24.69 million in maintenance needed.

However, not all hospitals were behind in maintenance spending.

Babinda Hospital, Bowen Hospital, Clermont Hospital, Cunnamulla Hospital, Dirranbandi Hospital, Dysart Hospital, Julia Creek Hospital, Moranbah Hospital, Mungindi Hospital, Roma Hospital, Sarina Hospital, St George Hospital, Surat Hospital and Wandoan Hospital were all listed as having no maintenance spending requirements.

Logan Hospital was listed as having $26.23 million in maintenance requirements. Picture: Richard Walker

Queensland Health said the hospital maintenance program received $346.5 million in this year’s budget on top of $281.6 million in 2022-23 and $233.6 million in 2021-22.

It said site inspections were completed at all hospital buildings at least every three years with risk assessments carried out to prioritise the most urgent repairs and upgrades.

“Risk-based allocation of funding for maintenance works is standard process and does not necessarily mean there is a delay to work to be undertaken,” Queensland Health said.

“The community can rest assured that any urgent maintenance items are addressed as a matter of priority.”

Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates criticised the underfunding and under-resourcing of hospitals and said the $1 billion of outstanding maintenance was more than just “routine works”.

“This is more shocking proof our hospitals have been underfunded and under-resourced for years and the backlog of work has grown by over $100 million in two years,” she said.

“It’s no wonder Queensland has record ambulance ramping, people waiting hours in emergency departments and ballooning surgery waiting lists.”

Caboolture Hospital conducts regular audits of its infrastructure to identify essential building services in need of replacement. Picture: Supplied

The statistics showed the major metropolitan hospitals, such as Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, had higher maintenance requirements due to larger population sizes and greater healthcare demands.

However, smaller regional hospitals also required maintenance investments to ensure quality services provided.

Metro North Health said Caboolture Hospital conducted regular audits of its infrastructure to identify essential building services in need of replacement.

The hospital was already undergoing an extensive redevelopment, including a new clinical services building.

A Gold Coast Health spokesperson said the $30.3 million in outstanding maintenance works were for various upgrades and replacements including for airconditioning systems, roof membranes, kitchen equipment, signage and mechanical equipment.

The startling maintenance statistics followed last week’s revelation that 26 reporting hospitals breached maximum waiting times for emergency departments at least once this year, with one patient forced to sit in a waiting room for more than 13 hours.

Originally published as Qld hospitals operating with million-dollar maintenance backlogs | FULL LIST