The PA Hospital, Queensland’s biggest hospital, has been forced to scale back surgeries as it remains at risk of losing its Anaesthetic Training Accreditation. The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists raised several concerns after visiting the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane and identified issues involving inadequate supervision, excessive roster changes, inadequate clinical support time and staffing numbers that do not meet guidelines.

The hospital has been left with no choice but to slash the number of patients being operated on to levels less than before the COVID wave in a bid to keep its accreditation. Many people waiting for elective surgery have endured enough already – some have had their surgeries cancelled a number of times. If the PA loses its accreditation to train anaesthetists, Queensland hospitals could be at risk of not having enough of these specialists. If that happens it won’t just affect one hospital; it’ll affect the entire state.

At a time when the elective surgery waitlist has soared, even more Queenslanders now face longer delays. An email leaked from Queensland Health states that 1,300 patients have already fallen through the cracks at the PA Hospital, waiting longer than clinically recommended for surgery. This is another sad and sorry chapter of the Queensland Health Crisis.

Locally, I continue to regularly receive worrying accounts about residents requiring an ambulance who are not attended to in good time. Ambulance ramping is a massive, ongoing issue for Gold Coast University and Logan Hospitals, and I do not shy away from raising this issue, because its impacts on our region – especially when ambulances get taken out of region for a long time – are huge. We in the LNP are putting our suggestions on the table. We all in Queensland deserve better than the problem-plagued health system this Government is presiding over.

TWO YEARS UNTIL THE NEXT STATE ELECTION
October 26 officially marked two years until the next state election. For me, it is the greatest honour to work for you all in the community, taking the issues that need addressing up to the Government and using the Parliament to hold them to account. Families, farmers and small businesses are the heart and soul of our region. We need to unlock the potential of our entire region, and also get the services and investment we need – public transport options, safe roads, more police services, affordable energy prices, and support for local issues.

If I can be of assistance in any matter (especially those related to the Queensland Government – major roads, state schools, police, our public hospitals, National Parks), please don’t hesitate to let me know by email on scenicrim@parliament.qld.gov.au or phone on 5515 1100.