Alarming concerns about patient risks at Redland Hospital

Urgent action is needed to address alarming concerns about risks to patients at Redland Hospital, AMA Queensland President Dr Maria Boulton said today.

Dr Boulton has written to Health Minister Yvette D’Ath outlining serious concerns raised by AMA Queensland members at Redland, the only metropolitan Queensland Health hospital without an intensive care unit (ICU)/critical care unit, 24/7 general surgical services, and inpatient orthopaedic services.

“The Queensland government promised a staged expansion of Redland in 2020, but two years later has not begun to deliver,” Dr Boulton said.

“Many of these issues appear to flow from that failure to deliver. Redland was supposed to have an ICU and 32 more beds by late 2022, but this has been delayed until late 2024. The promised Stage 2 expansion, including a new emergency department, has been postponed indefinitely.

“As a consequence, Redland Hospital has the worst ambulance ramping figures and some of the worst bed block in the state, and prolonged delays in moving admitted patients into ward beds.

“It faces ongoing delays in accessing critical care inpatients services at other hospitals, meaning the ED is left without adequate staffing on average 12 times a month because senior staff have to escort critical patients in ambulances to other hospitals for up to four hours at a time.

“The high dependency unit doesn’t meet all required criteria, including resuscitation and stabilisation of emergencies until they can be transferred.

“This means ward patients who deteriorate end up back in the ED, as do patients from the Mater Private Hospital next door.

“The hospital can’t operate on children under eight years of age.

“Yet the community and GPs are not being told about these service limitations, so patients present to Redland rather than going directly to a larger hospital and suffer delayed treatment until they can be transferred.

“Staff are resigning. The number of full-time equivalent medical registrars is critically low and there are not enough consultant anaesthetists.

“Many elective lists are being cancelled and wait times are blowing out.

“The people of Redlands and the doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who strive against the odds every day to deliver quality and safe healthcare deserve better.

“The Queensland government must explain what is happening with the promised staged expansion of Redland Hospital.”