QUEENSLAND’S Health Minister is withholding critical health data from Queenslanders in a desperate attempt to hide the truth about the dire state of the Queensland Health Crisis.
25 days after the latest quarterly data was due to be released, Queenslanders are still waiting to learn the truth about ramping rates, specialist waitlists and surgery delays that have worsened under the chaos and crisis of 10 years of Labor.
The Health Minister is still deliberately withholding the data after the LNP Opposition shared the stories of two Queenslanders in Parliament today facing life-changing consequences as a result of Labor Government’s health failures.
The LNP said Labor’s health failures were a clear sign the Labor Government had the wrong priorities for Queensland and was out of solutions to fix the deepening Queensland Health Crisis.
The result of Labor’s wrong priorities in health included overseeing:
• Ambulance ramping skyrocketing from 15% to 45% since 2015.
• A 475% increase in the number of patients waiting +24hrs in Emergency Departments to be admitted to hospital.
• The number of Queenslanders waiting for life-changing or life-saving elective surgeries nearly doubling to more than 58,000 people, with 20% of these waiting longer than medically safe for their surgeries.
• The number of Queenslanders waiting for dental surgeries blowing out to 126,000 people on their watch.
Shadow Minister for Health and Registered Nurse Ros Bates said only the LNP had the Right Priorities for Queensland’s Future.
“Queenslanders want a health system they can rely on and access to world-class health services no matter where they live, but that’s not what they’re getting under the Palaszczuk Labor Government,” Ms Bates said.
“Sarah’s husband nearly bled-out in her arms when the ambulance she called didn’t arrive because of systemic ambulance ramping. Her neighbour had to drive him to hospital in the back of his ute or he wouldn’t be here today.
“Bill is losing his eyesight while he waits for cataract surgery, after surgery waitlists have blown out on this Government’s watch. He was promised to receive the surgery within 90 days to prevent him going blind, but one year on he is still waiting, with dire consequences.
“Every single day Queenslanders are paying a high price for the chaos and crisis of the Labor Government.”
“Queenslanders’ priority is a reliable health system with services available in their local communities.
“Our health system is in crisis and is being held together only by the sheer determination of our hardworking doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.
“Labor’s endless photo-ops and efforts to hide hospital data won’t heal the Queensland Health Crisis, only the Right Priorities will.
“The LNP’s priority is easier access to health services because that’s a priority for Queenslanders.
“That’s why the LNP has put solutions on the table to heal the Queensland Health Crisis including better resources, better triaging, sharing data in real-time and putting doctors and nurses back in charge to improve patient care.”