Transcript - Surge in ED cases

Transcript: AMA Queensland President, Dr Maria Boulton, Today Extra with David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys, Monday 5 June 2023

Subjects: Surge in emergency department presentations

DAVID CAMPBELL:   Families struggling to cope with the cost of living pressures and a lack of bulk billing doctors are being blamed for a surge in the number of children presenting to Queensland's emergency departments.

SYLVIA JEFFREYS:   To discuss this, let's bring in AMA Queensland President Dr Maria Boulton in Brisbane. Doctor, good morning to you. If this surge in patients in EDs continues, what might happen? What's it going to look like?

DR MARIA BOULTON:    It's really frustrating at the moment because we're seeing a rise in respiratory illnesses and we know that they affect children a lot. In fact, I've got a sick child at home today with the sniffles. But it's really frustrating for parents to be blamed for something that's not their fault. At the end of the day, it's really distressing to see a sick child, and if parents are concerned, they need to seek care for that child and that care needs to be available.

What we're seeing is our hospitals are stretched, and if it wasn't for the amazing work of the healthcare workers at those hospitals, who knows where we would be? But parents don't go to the hospital lightly. They go because they're worried. And, you know, at the moment, because the federal government hasn't increased the Medicare rebates for them to access their GPs after hours, they really have no choice.

DAVID CAMPBELL:   So two of Queensland's biggest paediatric hospitals have seen a 30 per cent increase in every category of patient. Why is that?

DR MARIA BOULTON:    Yes, it's every category of patients. It includes category one patients who need urgent care or might need surgery in the next 24 hours. We’re also seeing an increase in respiratory viruses. So, for example, flu has hit us very hard this year. It's an early season and the numbers are still climbing. And we still have COVID cases and we're also seeing an increase in RSV cases from the previous years.

SYLVIA JEFFREYS:   We know it's not just children who are filling up emergency departments, though. There are severely ill adults as well. In fact, we understand prostate cancer diagnoses are on the rise. What's going on there?

DR MARIA BOULTON:    Prostate cancer is something that rises with age. If you have a family history, you are at increased risk. We know that one in six men who live to the age of 85 will have a prostate cancer diagnosis and that last year 24,000 were diagnosed with prostate cancer in Queensland. So they are large numbers and you know, these things happen. Cancer happens because the older we get the higher our risk is.

Also, we saw during COVID that people didn't attend their doctor as frequently, so they may have missed those really important screening programs that GPs run. And so it's really important if you're seeing your doctor, you know, tell them a little bit about your family history and ask them if there are any screening, cancer screening that you're overdue for so that doctor can then arrange it.

DAVID CAMPBELL:   I think there's a lot of hurdles there for men anyway, especially men over a certain age. They don't want to go see their doctors, then they don't want to put a strain on their health system. there's a lot of things to overcome there to get the messaging back out there, particularly with prostate cancer.

SYLVIA BOULTON:   And with kids, I just wonder, what would be your advice to parents, especially in light of RSV Awareness Week this week? What is your advice to parents who think that their children do have something like RSV or the flu? Do they go straight to the emergency department?

DR MARIA BOULTON:   As parents it can be a little bit tricky, especially if you're a new parent and you haven't been through it before. But at the end of the day, if you are concerned, it's about getting medical help for that child. And there are different avenues. If it's an emergency, ring 000. If your child's floppy, if they're having trouble breathing, if they're unresponsive, absolutely ring 000.

If you can get into see your GP - and some GPs do keep on the day appointments so they may not be visible online - but if you ring them, ask if there's an appointment available for that child to be seen. You can also ring 13HEALTH.

But in some cases there's no other option than going to the emergency department. And honestly, as a doctor and as a parent, we will never turn away a concerned parent because we know that child needs to be seen. Sometimes parents don't quite know the severity, so it's always better to have that child seen and examined to see what they need, whether they are okay to go home or whether they need to come into hospital for a few days.

SYLVIA JEFFREYS:   Great to get your advice. Dr Maria Boulton, thanks for joining us today.