Queensland Health has reported that waiting times for elective and emergency care in Queensland hospitals have improved despite the requirements of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Minister for Health and Ambulance, Steven Miles praised healthcare workers for this result.
“They’ve worked so hard,” Mr Miles said.
“Not only have they kept COVID out, they’ve also made sure Queenslanders have the other healthcare they need,” he said.
In June, the State Government announced a blitz on elective surgery and other procedures that were suspended during the height of the pandemic.
“While elective surgery long waits were expected to peak at 7,000, our elective surgery blitz saw them drop to just 2,774 by the end of June,” Mr Miles said
“Despite seeing nearly half a million people, the median wait to be seen was just 10 minutes at Queensland’s emergency departments in the quarter to June, down from 15 minutes in the same period last year.”
He said nearly 90 per cent of patients were seen at emergency departments within clinically recommended times, up from 76 per cent to June 2019.
“The Coronavirus pandemic was a shock to our hospital system, especially when it came to non-urgent elective surgery outpatient activity,” Mr Miles said.
“Thankfully, our pandemic response and our $250 million blitz means we’re in a better position than many other States to tackle the COVID-19 surgery backlog.”
He said the Department continued to balance the reintroduction of services, while ensuring there is capacity to respond quickly to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
