Queensland Health woes deepen as ambulances ‘bypass’ the regional hospital with no doctors

People are being diverted hundreds of kilometres absent from their healthcare facility in regional Queensland because of to a scarcity of medical practitioners, as locals warn obtain to healthcare was reaching disaster level.

Queensland Health has verified the Biggenden Multipurpose Wellness Services, west of Bundaberg, is at present on “bypass” because there were being no permanent or locum medical practitioners offered at the healthcare facility.

It made use of the phrase to refer to the system of diverting ambulances to other hospitals wherever a larger degree of care could be supplied. 

For Biggenden, it meant patients were being pressured to travel over an hour in an ambulance or be flown to an additional city for unexpected emergency health care procedure.

Nearby resident Mark Copeland, a full-time carer for his spouse who suffers from a persistent issue, claimed the physician shortage experienced worsened, with obtain to healthcare care likely from “terrible to worse” in recent months.

“We have received a health and fitness service below which encompasses a non-public observe, an aged care facility and a regional healthcare facility with no health professionals,” he claimed.

“But due to the fact then, it is really just turned out there is no ongoing, long lasting professional medical assist.”

He mentioned even nursing employees had turn out to be “strike and miss out on”.

“From week to week, it is really a matter of ring and see if there is a health care provider accessible,” Mr Copeland claimed.

Recruiting for team

Large Bay Medical center and Wellness Provider (WBHHS) performing main government officer Robyn Bradley stated ambulances would be diverted from Biggenden to Bundaberg Foundation Medical center.

She said the assistance had located a long term health care superintendent for Biggenden after months of recruiting.

“WBHHS has finalised recruitment … with the effective applicant scheduled to get started in the coming months,” Ms Bradley reported.

But Mr Copeland claimed the local community would continue on to experience in the meantime.

“The closest key hospitals are either Bundaberg, which is in excess of 100 kilometres away, or Hervey Bay, which is much more than 120,” he stated.

“It really is acknowledged widely in just the group and I won’t be able to identify a single individual who is content with the recent condition for clinical treatment.”

Opposition spokesperson for health and fitness Ros Bates explained the predicament was unacceptable.

“Queensland Well being is paying tens of millions and tens of millions of bucks on locum health professionals, flying them into communities that will not have a doctor,” she said.

“They’re expending hundreds of thousands on agency nurses who are earning a lot more than their entire-time counterparts in your area towns.”

Ambulance ramping continues 

Ms Bates explained ramping also ongoing to be a main difficulty, with December quarter figures demonstrating 25 per cent of individuals in Bundaberg have been left sitting down on an ambulance trolley for much more than 30 minutes.

That was in comparison to 31 for each cent of patients at Hervey Bay Healthcare facility and 13 per cent of patients at Maryborough Healthcare facility.

Ms Bradley claimed Queensland’s hospitals, like those people in the Large Bay area, ended up “busier than at any time, with the demand from customers for crisis and unplanned care accelerating appreciably in comparison to pre COVID-19 growth traits”.

“The demand is exceeding population expansion and is partly due to elements which include the mounting price tag of private wellbeing insurance coverage premiums along with minimal access and a decrease in bulk-billable GP expert services,” she reported.

“Regardless of recording a different maximize in ED displays throughout the December 2021 quarter, our personnel ended up equipped to attain a median ready time of 28 minutes.”

She claimed that was “an great outcome beneath the circumstances”.