Hospitals gear up for worst case scenarios

QUEENSLAND hospitals will triple the number of patients that can be seen by emergency departments and double capacity in intensive care as they prepare for a “highly likely” coronavirus outbreak.

In a series of new measures, the state will also buy 110 extra ventilators, increase hospital staff, expand fever clinics and begin stockpiling $25 million spending on medicines, gloves and masks.

Drastic options such as closing schools and stopping large gatherings are on the table if the spread of the virus escalates so that transmission cannot be tracked, Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed.

“If there was a big outbreak in an area we would have to then look at closing down schools and stop major events,” she said.

The plans were agreed to at a meeting of Cabinet’s Public Health and Safety Committee yesterday as the first two cases of transmission in Australia were identified in NSW.

Queensland emergency workers will conduct a “scenario exercise” on Friday to test their response to a major influx of patients.

Ms Palaszczuk said the virus was already being treated like a natural disaster.

“Preparation, containment and treatment are our best defence,” she said.

Under the plan, emergency rooms will be freed up by diverting some patients with less serious conditions to GPs or consultations via Skype.

More beds would become available as elective surgery decreases in tandem with the rise in sick patients.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said it was now “highly likely” the virus would be transmitted in Queensland as the global spread continued. “It is highly likely that we will see an outbreak in Queensland,” she said.