A five-step action plan for emergency departments

Transcript: AMA Queensland Ramping Roundtable Chair, Dr Kim Hansen, Nine, TODAY with Sylvia Jeffreys, Thursday, 9 December 2021

Subjects: AMA Queensland Ramping Roundtable Action Plan, Omicron variant

SYLVIA JEFFREYS:    Well, in just four days, Queensland's border will come down in time to reunite families for Christmas. And while it's cause for celebration for many, it has left health authorities concerned over how the State's emergency departments will cope if a COVID outbreak occurs. For more, we're joined by AMA Queensland Ramping Roundtable Chair, Dr Kim Hansen. Doctor, good morning to you. How prepared are Queensland hospitals for the reopening on Monday?

KIM HANSEN:     Good morning, Sylvia. Well, it's fair to say we're worried about the situation here. Hospitals are full without COVID cases. And we really feel that the preparation has happened but we wish there could have been some more preparation, some more space in our hospitals for the patients.

SYLVIA JEFFREYS:    And how have you reacted to the news this morning that a world-first form of the Omicron variant has been detected in Queensland, what does that mean for you?

KIM HANSEN:     This pandemic just keeps on giving. It just keeps giving us more and more scares, doesn't it? And we don't know much about Omicron yet. We know it's more contagious. We hope it's not as severe as Delta. We just need to wait for the authorities to do further tests and get more information as time goes on. But it just puts us on edge again.

SYLVIA JEFFREYS:    A group of Queensland doctors wants urgent action to fix ramping and bed block in the State's public health system. What are you calling for? How bad is it?

KIM HANSEN:     It's the worst we've ever seen. Over decades, patients have never waited so long in emergency departments, they've never been ramped on ambulances for so long. We've never seen our patients suffer like this. So a group of doctors have got together to advocate for our patients and try and force the government into more action, more funding, so that we can care for them to the best of our ability. But we can only do that when there's beds available in the hospitals for Queensland.

SYLVIA JEFFREYS:    That’s frightening for Queenslanders to hear on the verge of reopening the border and allowing Omicron into the State. What exactly do you need from the Government?

KIM HANSEN:      There's no doubt we need more beds. We've been chronically underfunded, like a lot of areas for years and years, decades really. But we also need leadership, we need innovation. As well as the investment, we need to use our beds as efficiently as possible. We need to have space in our hospitals every day. We need to be discharging patients seven days a week. And we need to get better at devising models where patients don't have to come to the emergency department to get hospital care or they don't have to be in a hospital bed to get hospital care.

SYLVIA JEFFREYS:     Is the State Government letting Queenslanders down on this front?

KIM HANSEN:     I think we've all been working hard over the pandemic to prepare. But we as a group are worried that we were not really where we'd like to be, given that the borders are opening on Monday.

SYLVIA JEFFREYS:    Okay, we'll leave it there for now. We appreciate your time this morning. And let's hope that there is some action on that front because it is desperately needed. Dr Kim Hansen, thank you very much for your time this morning.

9 November 2021

CONTACT: media@amaq.com.au 0419 735 641