LIVES LOST - 500 PAGES OF SECRET DOCUMENTS RELEASED

QUEENSLAND HEALTH CRISIS EXPOSED - RAMPING CRISIS PUTTING LIVES AT RISK

Find the documents here

Queenslanders died waiting for an ambulance or stuck on a ramp outside a hospital as the crisis engulfing our health system reaches dangerous new levels.

An extraordinary dossier of secret documents released to the LNP under Right to Information expose the true state of our sick health system.

More than 500 pages of Significant Incident Reports conducted by the Queensland Ambulance Service detail the horrific pain and suffering of dozens of Queenslanders across the south-east region who were in desperate need of help in the period between January 2021 and April this year.

The documents expose for the first time the true state of Queensland’s Health Crisis.

Among the shocking findings:

• Five desperate triple zero calls were made after a patient suffered severe abdominal pain and vomiting. An ambulance did not arrive until 9 hours and 19 minutes later where the patient was deceased on arrival.
• After Gold Coast hospitals were placed on ambulance bypass due to extensive delays, a local resident experiencing chest pain and ramped for over an hour tragically passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest at Gold Coast University Hospital.
• An aged care resident who fell, tragically died after an ambulance took 3 hours and 7 minutes to arrive.
• A Gold Coast resident suffering chest pains and lung issues sadly died as an ambulance took more than two hours to turn up.
• A woman threatening self-harm tragically took her own life as ambulance delays were more than 2 hours, and 21 were ramped across north Brisbane at the time of her call.
• Frantic triple zero calls were made from Kenmore after a patient collapsed. The ambulance arrived an hour and a half later and the patient was deceased.
• A patient who fell and suffered a suspected fractured knee tragically died in hospital after waiting 6 hours and 42 minutes for an ambulance.
• Four frantic triple zero calls were made for a patient at Murrarie as their condition deteriorated. They were pronounced dead on arrival after the ambulance took 3 hours and 14 minutes to respond.

Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli said the cases were horrifying for the families and hard-working paramedics who were victims of poor State Government planning for over half a decade.

“These documents reveal the true state of the Queensland Health Crisis,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“Devastatingly, they show that Queenslanders have died because our health system has been overwhelmed. Every one of them is a tragedy.

“After I read these documents I just wanted to go home and hug my kids.

“I cannot comprehend how this can be happening in a modern Queensland.

“This is the most heartbreaking collection of documents I have read. You can feel the trauma in the unanswered calls as loved ones die in the arms of family members. You can feel the frustration of paramedics stuck at the end of a ramp for an entire shift while cries for help go unanswered. You can feel the sense of hopelessness with the Queensland Health Crisis.

“Every single one of these Queenslanders and their families are owed answers by the State Government. It’s hard to fathom how this is happening in Queensland today.

“To know that so many Queenslanders have died in these circumstances and their loved ones have suffered enormous pain as a result of the Queensland Health Crisis is harrowing.

“For two years we have had solutions on the table that the Palaszczuk Government could implement now.

“More beds, better triaging, releasing data in real time and giving power back to the frontline staff to make better decisions to improve patient care is just the start.

“We cannot have a situation in this state where Queenslanders live in fear as the health system collapses around them.

“Enough is enough. No more excuses and no more blame.

“The Palaszczuk Government must listen, and they must act to heal the Queensland Health Crisis now.”

“More beds, better triaging, releasing data in real time and giving power back to the frontline staff to make better decisions to improve patient care is just the start.

“We cannot have a situation in this state where Queenslanders live in fear as the health system collapses around them.

“Enough is enough. No more excuses and no more blame.

“The Palaszczuk Government must listen, and they must act to heal the Queensland Health Crisis now.”

Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates said frontline staff were suffering enormous trauma as their calls for the government to act fell on deaf ears.

“As a nurse and former hospital administrator, I know how stressful it is for the staff who are doing everything they can to keep our hospitals and ambulances running,” she said.

“Our doctors, nurses, paramedics, and allied healthcare workers are exhausted and deserve so much more respect.

“They need to be able to rely on the system to support them to save lives and right now that’s not happening.

“The entire state is suffering, and the embattled Health Minister doesn’t have a plan to fix it.

“What has the Palaszczuk Government been doing for the last seven years to improve our hospitals?

“We won’t stop fighting for these workers and for better health care for all Queenslanders.”