Report reveals surgery misses

QUEENSLAND hospitals failed to see some of the most critical patients on time, with alarming new figures also revealing some elective surgery wait time targets were missed.

Cairns, Darling Downs, Torres and Cape and Wide Bay Hospital and Health Services all just missed their targets to see 100 per cent of patients with the most lifethreatening injuries within two minutes.

The stress on the state’s public hospitals during 2020-21 has been laid bare in the HHS’s annual reports released on Monday and in a new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) to be released on Tuesday.

Cairns HHS saw 99 per cent of category 1 patients within the clinically recommended time of two minutes, while 75 per cent of category 2 patients were seen within 10 minutes. Just 84 per cent of category 1 patients requiring elective surgery were treated within the recommended time – missing the target by 14 per cent. Category 1 patients are classified as “immediately lifethreatening” while category 2 is “imminently life-threatening”. At the Sunshine Coast HHS, 82 per cent of category 1 patients requiring elective surgery were treated within the benchmark time – missing its target of 98 per cent.

The annual reports noted that Queensland Health temporarily suspended non-urgent elective surgery during 2019-20 amid the pandemic, which continued to affect performance during 2020-21.

Meanwhile, a number of Hospital and Health Services exceeded their targets for seeing the most critical patients on time, including Children’s Health, Mackay and Central West.

According to the AIHW report, half of Queensland’s ED patients were seen within 15 minutes of arrival and 90 per cent were seen within 80 minutes – the second-fastest time in the country.