MORE QUEENSLANDERS WAITING LONGER FOR CRITICAL SURGERIES
The Palaszczuk Labor Government has failed to fix the decline in elective surgery targets, after it was revealed more Queensland patients weren’t seen within the clinically recommended timeframe.
The damning new health statistics revealed 40% of elective surgery patients in Hervey Bay and Maryborough weren’t seen on time, which is more than double the Queensland average of 19% in the September quarter.
Maryborough recorded the largest yearly increase in Queensland at 33%, followed by Hervey Bay at 20%.
Alarmingly, annual increases were also recorded in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Gladstone, Toowoomba and Dalby.
Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates said regional Queenslanders continue to pay the price for the chaos and crisis that has engulfed the Palaszczuk Labor Government.
“These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet, like the hopeless Health Minister says, these are real Queenslanders desperate for their surgeries,” Ms Bates said.
“All Queenslanders deserve a world class health system no matter where they live, but once again regional Queenslanders are being treated like second class citizens.
“What has this Labor government been doing for the past nine years to improve patient outcomes for Queenslanders and keep up with population growth?
“Tens of thousands of Queenslanders are stuck on the waitlist and a higher percentage of them aren’t seen on time.
“After nine years, three terms and four Health Ministers, the Palaszczuk Labor Government has stopped listening to Queenslanders and doesn’t have a plan to fix the Queensland Health Crisis.
“The LNP has the Right Priorities for Queensland including delivering easier access to health services, driving down ambulance ramping, empowering local decision makers, providing more healthcare professionals through retention and attraction, building hospitals on time and on budget, improving hospital performance through real-time data and re-opening maternity services in regional Queensland.
“It took Shannon Fentiman nearly 130 days to release the latest health data, and now we know why.
“The Queensland Health Crisis is only getting worse under Labor.
“Regional Queenslanders deserve better.”
