Ambulance ramping climbs to worst in the nation at 43%
Damning new health data has exposed the worsening state of the Queensland Health Crisis under the Palaszczuk Labor Government.
The alarming numbers reveal dangerous ambulance ramping is worsening across the state; more Queenslanders are waiting far too long in under resourced Emergency Departments; more Queenslanders in need of life-changing surgeries are now waiting too long; elective surgery waitlists are too high, and hundreds of thousands of Queenslanders are still stranded waiting to see a specialist.
The LNP Opposition is demanding Health Minister Shannon Fentiman explain why she failed to release the numbers during Parliament last week and dodged questioning on a weekend afternoon.
Shockingly the Queensland Health Crisis is worsening despite the fact the numbers were recorded before flu season.
The latest statistics show:
- Ambulance ramping is 43% – up from 41%
- Emergency department patients not seen within clinically recommended times is 29% – up from 28%
- Elective surgery patients not seen on time is 23.7% – up from 22.2%
- 58,446 Queenslanders are now on the Elective Surgery Wait List – nearly twice the amount when the Palaszczuk Labor Government first came to office in 2015.
- 281,697 Queenslanders are stranded on the Specialist Outpatient Waiting List – a number which has grown by nearly 40,000 in less than two years.
Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli said everyone of these numbers had a real effect on Queenslanders caught in the Government’s chaos and the Queensland Health Crisis.
“After eight years of mismanagement by the Palaszczuk Government the Queensland Health system is flat-lining,” said Mr Crisafulli.
“Nearly one in two Queenslanders are ramped in their hour of need and the blame lies squarely with the chaotic Palaszczuk Government which is lurching from crisis to crisis.
“We’ve been putting our solutions on the table which include more resources, better triaging, releasing data in real time and putting doctors and nurses back in charge to improve patient care.
“The Premier and her ministers must start listening, stop releasing data in secret and take some real action to heal the Queensland Health Crisis.”
Shadow Integrity Minister Fiona Simpson said secrecy was not the way to heal the Queensland Health Crisis and Health Minister Shannon Fentiman must explain why she was failing to be upfront with Queenslanders.
“It has been a terrible start for the new Health Minister and now she won’t even front up and be upfront about the true crisis plaguing the health system she runs,” said Ms Simpson.
“We have been relentlessly calling for this data to be released and she decided to release it on a Saturday afternoon after a full Parliament sitting week.
“She had the data all along, but refused to be upfront with Queenslanders.
“Nothing has changed with the Palaszczuk Labor Government. It is the same faces around the same Cabinet table with the same dodgy cover ups.”
Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates said the latest deterioration of the health system was not the fault of our hard working doctors, nurses or allied health professionals.
“As a registered nurse, I sympathise for my colleagues on the front line and I know they are doing all they can to hold this broken system together,” said Ms Bates.
“As we enter flu season, it’s heartbreaking to see the Palaszczuk Labor Government is continuing to fail to heal our health system.
“Queenslanders are crying out for solutions to heal the Queensland Health Crisis and we know they deserve better than the chaos and crisis of the Palaszczuk Labor Government.”
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