State’s emergency department at ‘crisis point’

She said dedicated care for this vulnerable cohort would free up vital beds in overcrowded facilities as reports detail the extent of ambulances ramping at emergency departments and exhausted staff run off their feet.

“Our biggest issue is bed capacity right now, that is our urgent issue if we want to stop ambulances sitting at hospitals,” Ms D’Ath told reporters on Tuesday morning.

“If the commonwealth was to step in today and to provide packages for people who need age care packages and disability packages, we would free up nearly 600 beds – that is larger than my local hospital at Redcliffe, that is the size of one of our biggest hospitals.”

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“Almost 600 beds is very significant and could ease the pressure immediately across our hospital system if the commonwealth stepped in and helped these individuals get their packages.”

The Health Minister also conceded staff were “overwhelmed” and “exhausted”, stressing a cultural change was needed to fix the system.

“There has to be a rethink and a willingness to reform and I’m certainly up for it,” she told The Courier-Mail.

“It means having honest conversations about how we deliver services, the scope of work of our health professionals, what the hospital’s role should be versus the broader primary health networks and healthcare generally in the community.”

The call comes as the industry’s peak body declared public hospitals were at “crisis point”, with clogged emergency departments and too few beds leading to an exodus of burnt-out staff.

The situation is the worst emergency doctors have ever experienced, Australian Medical Association Queensland member and Australian College for Emergency Medicine spokesperson Kim Hansen said.

“There’s been a surge in patients this year – most hospitals are seeing record numbers and they just don’t have the staff or beds to cope,” she said.

“The system was already at full capacity and now it’s swamped.”

Dr Hansen said the departments had struggled amid patients being stuck in waiting rooms for hours and ambulances ramping at hospitals.

“Emergency departments are the canary in the coalmine,” she said. “They bear the burden when other parts of the health system are over capacity.

“Emergency doctors and nurses are happy to work hard to see all the patients, but they can’t do it well if they have to practise ‘waiting room medicine’.

“It’s awful, like putting a bandaid on a stab wound.”

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has demanded the Palaszczuk government adopt real-time data on available beds to allow patients and health professionals to communicate which facility is capable of offering the best care.

He also wants better resourcing for triaging in emergency departments to ensure the service is fit for purpose and more investment to create more beds in public hospitals.

“This is an extraordinary admission of failure from a state government losing control of our health system,” he said of the Health Minister’s admission there wasn’t enough beds to cope with demand.

“There has been a history of blame, and during the last fortnight, the state government has pointed the finger at COVID, Campbell Newman and Canberra. Today they blame culture.”