State reveals new investment amid ‘crisis’

The Queensland Premier said the upgrade would provide 174 new beds through a joint investment from the government and private hospital operator Mater Health Services, though the figure remains well short of the 1500 new beds the sector’s peak body said was needed to solve the shortfall.

The upgrade to the facility in Ipswich in the rapidly expanding suburb of Springfield would deliver a new emergency department, intensive care unit and maternity services by early 2024, Ms Palaszczuk said.

She said the upgrade was the first announcement ahead of the state government’s fiscal update to be handed down in June, which she promised would be a “record health budget”.

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Ms Palaszczuk said the budget would include a “big focus” on health infrastructure.

“We have made our priority to keep Queenslanders safe,” the Premier told reporters on Monday morning. “You are going to see a lot of additional funding for health.

“We know we have a growing population and we need to provide the health facilities that are needed for the future, and this is exactly what this budget will foreshadow.”

The announcement comes as the sector was described as being in “crisis”, plagued by an undersupply of hospital beds and common anecdotes of paramedics waiting for hours to admit patients to emergency departments.

Neville Clayton died less than a week after he endured several heart attacks amid a harrowing wait at Ipswich Hospital that the opposition said was “absolutely tragic”.

The man’s son, former nurse Anthony Clayton, shared his father’s story in the hope of forcing change to a health sector he said was struggling to care for southeast Queensland’s rapidly growing population.

Earlier in the month, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath announced an extra $100 million to address the issue. She told state parliament that it would create 65 news beds in facilities in Ipswich, West Moreton and Greater Brisbane.

But the sector’s peak body said this funding boost was “nowhere near enough”, insisting the state is in desperate need of 1500 more beds.

“That $100 million will open 65 more beds,” Australian Medical Association Queensland president Chris Perry told Channel 9.

“It’s a drop in the ocean.”

Dr Perry said the issue began about 30 years ago when the “health economists” suggested day surgery would save money because it meant patients recovering from a hernia operation, for example, could be treated at home and a greater supply of bed places wasn’t needed to be built.

He said this solution led to hospitals being built with far too few bed spaces.

“The hospitals need to be expanded,” he said. “They’re way, way too small.”

Ms Palaszczuk insists, however, her government is responding to the demand, with the two recent funding announcements just two of many infrastructure pledges in the pipeline.

“We have work already happening on the expansion of Ipswich, on the expansion of Logan, Caboolture – in total it is over 800 beds that will be coming online over the next four to five years,” she told reporters on Monday.

“Plus, there is going to be additional beds on the Sunshine Coast Hospital, Nambour Hospital.

“We are seeing a huge increase in beds across our state.”