Number of long-stay patients at Qld hospitals ‘highest it’s ever been’

The number of people staying for long periods in Queensland hospitals is the highest it has ever been, the health minister has conceded, amid growing pressure for more beds and increased strain on ambulances and paramedics.

The LNP lambasted the government for new health data released overnight, which showed there were more than 603,000 people presenting at emergency departments between January and March.

The data also showed long-stay patients in hospitals had increased from 863 in November last year to 964 in February.

Long-stay patients are people who are medically ready for discharge, but are yet to receive support to transition to the community. According to the department, people who are under the age of 65 are typically awaiting support from the National Disability Insurance Scheme before they are discharged.

Fentiman, who on Sunday spoke at a community open day for the Eight Mile Plains satellite hospital, conceded long-stay patient numbers were the highest they had been.

“Yes, it’s the highest it’s ever been, but the amount of bed days they are staying has shortened,” Fentiman said.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman.

Fentiman said more aged Queenslanders were coming to hospital because they needed either an NDIS package or a place within an aged care facility.

She said this contributed to bed blockage and ambulance ramping, but the numbers continued to grow.

“I want to see more investment from the federal government. They have announced $1.2 billion at national cabinet last year – that money needs to get out the door.

“We have put in proposals to move these long stay patients, I want to see that funding come to Queensland as soon as possible.

“We’re doing our bit, with a $200 million investment to move long stay patients out. We are getting them through more quickly, but they keep coming and the federal government needs to work with us to find solutions because a lot of this is about capacity in our aged care sector.”

LNP opposition leader David Crisafulli said the health department had hit rock bottom, and said the ambulance ramping rate was the worst in Queensland’s history.

“Behind every one of these ambulance ramping statistics is a patient who doesn’t get the help in their hour of need, but also a paramedic that can’t go back out on the road and a doctor and a nurse just trying to hold a broken health system together by their fingertips,” he said.