The Sunshine Coast University Hospital did not have the resources to meet demand nine times in the three months to the end of June.
Queensland Health performance data shows the hospital reached Tier 3 capacity three times in April, twice in May and four times in June.
Tier 3 is described in Queensland Health public hospital management protocols as having limited capacity to meet the needs of the community or that all capacity has been exhausted.
It results in patients being directed to other hospitals or sent home to free up resources.
The hospital’s Tier 3 episodes lasted an average of 60 hours and 15 minutes – about two-and-a-half days each time.
The Tier 3 events raise questions about the hospital’s ability to meet the needs of the region’s burgeoning population less than 10 years after it was opened.
Queensland Health has confirmed the hospital has 828 beds and bed alternatives but performance data shows that 718 were available for use at the end of the June quarter.
A Sunshine Coast Health spokesperson said the number of beds and bed alternatives available varied according to demand and other factors.
“Sunshine Coast Health flexes up and down depending on demand, the acuity or complexity of patients, the length of stay of patients, and staffing. The number of bed and bed alternatives fluctuates each day,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the answer was not always to “open more beds”.
“It depends on the types of patients coming to hospital. For example, the beds in the emergency department, the intensive care unit, the beds on general ward or a bed in maternity are planned so that the same type of patients are together and, importantly, staffed differently to provide for the different care needs to the different types of patients,” the spokesperson said.
“It’s not only where the bed is located; it’s also making sure the right skill mix of clinicians is available to provide the care.”
Performance data shows the number of staff at the end of the June quarter was higher than last year.
The number of doctors was up 8.7 per cent at 982, nurses and midwives had increased 4.6 per cent to 2862, and professional and technical officer numbers increased by 6.2 per cent to 679.
However, overall patient numbers had also risen compared to the same period last year.
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Patient admissions were 9.8 per cent up on to 26,765, emergency admissions were up 6.7 per cent to 11,005, patients provided with services but not admitted increased 17.9 per cent to 114,622, and same-day admissions increased by 11.7 per cent to 14,950. The number of babies born rose 7.4 per cent to 851.
Despite the increase in emergency arrivals, the percentage of patients transferred off stretcher within 30 minutes increased by 3.6 per cent to 67.5 per cent.
None of the other Sunshine Coast Health hospitals hit Tier 3 in the three months to June.
Nambour Hospital beds were 22.6 per cent up at 239, doctors increased 16.3 per cent to 108, nurses and midwives were up 8.2 per cent to 708, and professional and technical officers up 22.4 per cent to 134. Patient admissions were 7.6 per cent higher at 7910. Emergency admissions were up 3 per cent to 3049, patient non-admitted services were down 14.2 per cent to 18,842, same-day admissions were up 5.8 per cent to 5601 and overnight admissions were up 12.3 per cent to 2309.
Maleny Soldiers Memorial Hospital beds were down 52 per cent to 12, doctors down 9.9 per cent to eight, nurses and midwives down 28.3 per cent to 34, and professional and technical officers up 4.2 per cent to six. Patient admissions decreased by 29.6 per cent to 157. Emergency admissions were down 43 per cent to 61, non-admitted patient services were stable at one, same-day admissions were down 17.9 per cent to 33 and overnight admissions were down 31.3 per cent to 34.
Caloundra Health Service beds and bed alternatives were stable at 35. Patient admissions were up 3.2 per cent to 2209, emergency admissions were down 33.3 per cent to two, non-admitted patient services were up 28.4 pe cent to 13,896, overnight admissions were up 2.3 per cent to 133 and same-day admissions were down 3.5 per cent to 2076.
Gympie Hospital beds and bed alternatives increased by 1.1 per cent to 91, doctors were up 5.7 per cent to 67, nurse and midwives were up 11 per cent to 321 per cent, and professional and technical staff up 18.2 per cent to 32. Patient admissions were up 6.7 per cent to 4622, emergency admissions were up 11.1 per cent to 1859, non-admitted patient services were up 13 per cent to 1010, same-day admissions were up 6.9 per cent to 3309 and overnight admissions were up 6.4 to 1313. Eighty-nine babies were born, a 30.9 per cent increase.
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