“Emergency department wait times have improved between March and June 2019, but there was also a 4.2% decrease in the number of patients seen across Metro South.
“Two of the state’s Metro South hospitals, Logan and Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital (QEII), have the worst inpatient National Emergency Access Target (NEAT) in Queensland.
“Rapid off-loading has worsened, in which patients on ambulance stretchers are unloaded onto wheelchairs, chairs or stretchers in corridors when there is no suitable treatment space. This is unsafe and has led to patient harm.
“Recently staff were asked to remove a patient in labour from an ambulance stretcher who was in the process of delivering a premature baby. This is an impossible situation for staff to deal with.
“In other parts of the state, there are better procedures for dealing with busy emergency departments, “says Dr Hansen.
“The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, ACEM, are keen to meet with Queensland Health to continue to improve services in Metro South.”
