New data has revealed the number patients on the Sunshine Coast waiting for specialist treatment.
As of January 1 there were 1494 category one, 7658 category two and 9841 category three Sunshine Coast University Hospital patients waiting for an initial service event in a specialist outpatient clinic.
Nambour Hospital had 186 category one, 156 category two and 163 category three patients waiting.
The clinically recommend time for a category one patient is 30 days, 90 days for category two and one year for category three.
The waitlist for patients totals almost 20,000, a yearly increase of 18 per cent at Sunshine Coast University Hospital and 96 per cent at Nambour Hospital.
Kawana MP Jarrod Bleijie said Sunshine Coast patients deserved better.
“The specialist waiting list has soared because of the repeated failures from the state government,” he said.
Responding to the figures, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said suspension and subsequent backlog of elective surgeries by national cabinet in 2020 and COVID-19’s impact contributed to delays in specialist wait times.
She said both had a significant impact that was felt across Queensland.
“We’ve seen a 6 per cent increase in the amount of elective surgery we did in the last quarter compared to the previous quarter,” she said.
“So, the hospital and health services are making a difference. They are seeing an improvement, but it’s going to take some time.”
Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli said the huge increase showed more needed to be done to rectify the wait times.
“Behind the nearly 20,000 patients waiting for their specialist appointment are stories of Sunshine Coast locals desperate for a better quality of life,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“Queenslanders are waiting months, if not years to see a specialist for their damaged knee, deteriorating eyesight or heart problems.”
In the report, Auditor-General Brendan Worrall said outpatient services were being hampered because the health system had reduced capacity to meet growing demand.
Ms D’Ath said Queensland Health hospitals were also partnering with more private hospitals to help relieve pressure on the public system.
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