Ramping times are unacceptable
Transcript: AMA Queensland Vice President, Dr Nick Yim, Sunrise with David Koch and Natalie Barr, Wednesday 5 October 2022
Subject: Ambulance ramping
NATALIE BARR: Southeast Queensland's hospital crisis has entered uncharted territory, with the state recording the worst ambulance ramping in this country - 73 per cent of patients at Redland Hospital were ramped in July. In Logan, it was 66 per cent, and it wasn't much better at the Queen Elizabeth and Princess Alexandra Hospitals. The shocking new stats have come just a day after revelations the Queensland Government removed more than a dozen beds from the Metro Health Service at the height of the pandemic. Joining me now is AMA Queensland Vice President, Dr Nick Yim. Good morning to you. Tell us why we're at this point.
DR NICK YIM: Good morning, Nat. And absolutely, it is concerning. It is a crisis. We acknowledge that these numbers were from July, and this was at the height of the COVID pandemic. Obviously back then, we had thousands of staff furloughed, and obviously hundreds of patients in hospital. But this is nothing new. This is something that was brewing even before COVID, and obviously this is where we're seeing that crisis. We are seeing people waiting outside, ambulances trying to get in. And 73 per cent waiting for more than 30 minutes, that's just unacceptable.
NATALIE BARR: So are those numbers reduced now?
DR NICK YIM: We haven't seen new numbers, but hopefully with less people coming into hospital due to COVID and due to other respiratory illnesses, that will be reducing. However, this is not a sign that we are out of the woods yet. The healthcare system, even before COVID, it was under pressure, it was under strain, which is the reason why a year ago, AMA Queensland did have a Ramping Roundtable. And there were five recommendations, and one of them was investment into more beds, which is commendable that the government has invested into it, but we do need more people on the floor - nurses, doctors, and other health staff.
NATALIE BARR: Okay, well let's hope we can get open even more beds, because reducing it during COVID, it doesn't sound like it was a great idea, doesn't it? Thank you very much, Nick. We'll talk to you soon.
Published: 5 Oct 2022