Long Delays, Lack Of Beds: Hospital Staff Left Short

Patients have been reportedly experiencing long delays waiting for beds at Mackay Base Hospital, some of whom waited in an ambulance for up to seven hours.

Leader for the Opposition David Crisafulli says the hard-working hospital staff do not deserve to be put under the extra pressure of trying to save lives without enough equipment to meet rising demands.

With recent population trends causing mass movement to regional areas such as Mackay and the Whitsundays, current facilities are no longer adequate in catering for the increase and this extra strain is being felt across the region.

Mr Crisafulli says that despite population growth, there have been no additional beds in any of our eight local hospitals.

“At a time when our frontline staff were facing more pressure than ever, the State Government was making their job more difficult,” he said.

“They publicly said they were doing all they could to fix the health system, but behind closed doors many already-overstretched hospitals didn’t get one new bed.”

Patient Off-Stretcher times have also been flagged by the opposition as an issue that needs to be addressed by state government immediately.

New health figures have revealed patients had to wait in the back of an ambulance for between five and seven hours.

The longest recorded time for a patient in Mackay was 7 hours 19 minutes in March, while in June two patients were forced to wait more than six hours.

Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates said it’s another symptom of the Queensland health crisis.

“It’s unacceptable for any Queenslander to wait more than seven hours on a stretcher before getting a hospital bed,” Ms Bates said.

“As a nurse and former hospital administrator, I know how frustrating it is for paramedics and patients.

“These dedicated men and women don’t want to spend their entire shift sitting at the end of a ramp, while other calls go unanswered.”

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