Mayors call for urgent funding in face of 'dire' shortages at Ipswich Hospital

Three mayors have sounded the alarm over what they describe as a capacity crisis at Ipswich Hospital.

More than half of the hospital's elective surgery waiting list has been sent to private hospitals since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one third of residents are leaving the region for care.

Ipswich Hospital also called 29 internal emergencies in the 12 months to April — 12 of those due to bed capacity issues.

The West Moreton mayors of the Ipswich, Lockyer Valley and Somerset regions are pleading for urgent funding for the health service days out from the Queensland budget, voicing concerns the hospital is too small for the rapidly growing population it services.

The West Moreton Health Service encompasses Ipswich, the Lockyer Valley and Somerset Regions west of Brisbane and has the fastest-growing population in the state and is tipped to almost double to 588,000 within 15 years.

Needs of residents are also greater than average, with health service data revealing nearly two thirds of residents occupy the bottom two fifths of socio-economic disadvantage, 38 per cent are obese and nearly half of deaths are premature.

Queensland Health said in March Ipswich Emergency admitted 7.4 per cent more of the most serious cases —  Category 1 and 2 patients — than in the same period last year.

The suburban centre has one of the worst performing emergency departments in the state, seeing just 54 per cent of 17,674 patients within the clinically recommended time in the March quarter.

But Mayor Teresa Harding, who is a member of the Liberal National Party, said capacity issues at Ipswich were inadequate before 2020, when COVID arrived.

"Our health needs were well behind before the pandemic, now we're in dire need," she said.

"It's very concerning for us that the people here are not getting the treatment.

"They pay their taxes, they work hard, they should be getting that health care and that treatment right here, where it's close to their homes and their families."

If you have any further any information about this story, email Jemima Burt.

While it appears Ipswich Hospital is getting through its waitlist, thousands of elective surgery patients have been treated at private hospitals.

Since February 2020, approximately 5,300 patients were ticked off Ipswich Hospital's elective surgery waiting list.

But more than 3,000 of those were sent to other private hospitals through Queensland Health's Surgery Connect program.

Currently there are about 1,800 people waiting for elective surgery at Ipswich Hospital, but another 9,600 are waiting to get on that list.

In the three months to March, just 268 patients received elective surgery, and just half of category 2 and 3 surgery patients were treated within clinically recommended times.

During that period, Queensland put elective surgery on hold again to deal with the Omicron wave.

Graham Lehmann, mayor of the Somerset Region, is worried about how the region will fare in a decade given the service is unable to cope with existing demand.

"My biggest worry is people not being able to get health care," he said. 

"There's people sitting out there on waiting lists now that have been pushed back and pushed back and pushed back.

"Some of those people have passed away before they've even got to have their operation, that shouldn't be happening."

Currently there are about 1,800 people waiting for elective surgery at Ipswich Hospital, but another 9,600 are waiting to get on that list.

About one third of West Moreton residents are leaving the region for care, people like Andrew Stanstuick, who lives just 12 kilometres from Ipswich Hospital but said he will be paying for an Uber to Brisbane next time he becomes unwell.

The Redbank Plains resident in his 50s suffers from chronic back pain, related to a prolapsed spinal disc injury.

In February his GP advised he call an ambulance when a disc shifted in his back, leaving him unable to walk or toilet.

Hours later he was picked up and taken to Ipswich Hospital, where he said he was left ramped in a corridor for approximately an hour.

"They took me off the ambulance took me through reception out back and then took me into a corridor where there were probably eight other people waiting on trolleys," Mr Stanstuick said. 

"After about an hour or so I was taken into one of the rooms in emergency basically the curtains around you … the doctor came and saw me and disappeared … she came back and said, 'Well, we've got no beds for you, so we'll have to send you home."'

Mr Stanstuick said he then walked to a police station around 2am and an officer drove him home.

"I will pay for an Uber. I'll pay for a cab. I will get a lift with a neighbour or something. I am never ever going to Ipswich Hospital again, I don't care what it's for," he said.

Queensland Health would not comment on Mr Stanstuick's situation.

While there are a range of factors at play, the mayors said the prevailing issue is that Ipswich Hospital needs to be expanded.

The health service has a plan to expand and has completed a $2.4 million business case for the construction, but the multi-million-dollar expansion is yet to be funded.

"The greatest need here is that we need the Master Plan — that has been approved by the Department of Health to be funded," Ms Harding said.

The mayors say funding needs to be targeted at the areas of greatest need.

We offer tailored front pages for local audiences in each state and territory. Find out how to opt in for more Queensland news.

Last year the Queensland Government spent $177 million to expand public beds at a private hospital in Springfield, a rapidly growing suburban area, but Lockyer Valley Mayor Tanya Milligan said that funding could have been better directed.

In a week's time, the Queensland government will hand down its budget — and it has promised a record spend on health.

In a statement, outgoing West Moreton Health chief executive Dr Kerrie Freeman said that more than $146 million had been spent on master-planned infrastructure for the service since 2019.

That included a state-of-the-art medical imaging facility, a new 26-bed ward at Ipswich Hospital, an oncology day unit and Allied Health outpatient services and the construction of a 64-bed Acute Mental Health Unit.

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.

This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced.

AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)