Emergency Department (ED) efficiency and the average length of hospital stays in Queensland last year ranked in the top 25% of Australian health systems.
According to the 2022-23 Health annual report, Queensland Health ED performed in the top quartile of state and territory health systems across multiple metrics.
Last year, a total of 62% of ED visitors left within four hours of their arrival at the hospital, which was a performance score of 18% below target goal of more than 80%.
Other performance measures in the report (pp55-65) recorded efficiency and average length of hospital stays, inpatient care measures that considered staphylococcus infection, elective surgery wait times, the percentage of patients discharged against medical advice.
In a statement, minister for health, mental health and ambulance services Shannon Fentiman said the latest annual report showed a strong year of reform and progress. This was despite significant demand on local hospitals and a global workforce shortage, she added.
“Queensland Health’s annual report demonstrates the significant work that occurs every day to deliver a health system dedicated to caring for Queenslanders.
“It is also testament to the significant work that has occurred implementing innovative solutions to address distinct challenges and delivering the largest ever investment in health infrastructure,” she said.
One of the innovative workforce solutions being tried in Queensland is an incentive scheme designed to attract eligible interstate and overseas healthcare workers with up to $70,000 to come and live and work in the state.
By the end of 2022-23, Queensland Health employed 102,037 FTE staff, 13,957 who were employed by and worked in the department.
First Nations issues were priority areas for the department last financial year, with the report highlighting several pilots and programs including the creation of 19 health practitioner positions to enhance community outreach via the 10-year strategy for action Our health, our mob, our ways: Queensland’s First Nations Health Workforce Strategy.
A First Nations scholarship and mentoring program for maternal health undergraduate and postgraduate students was rolled out in 2022-23, and 21 out of 45 Connected Communities Pathway program funded initiatives (including seven new sites for Better Cardiac Care for ATSI patients) were fully implemented.
The government has also expanded its Growing Deadly Families ATSI Maternity Strategy 2019-2025, investing in maternal models of care in six Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled health organisations.
The department also launched a new campaign called ‘Healthy Skin Health Heart’ as part of the Ending Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD): Queensland First Nations Strategy for 2021-2024.
The annual report was tabled in the Queensland state parliament last week.
Of the department’s costs in the financial year, 47.4% went to acute inpatient care (a slight increase on the previous year), followed by prevention, primary and community care (13.1%), outpatient care (11.4%), emergency care (10.7%), mental health, alcohol and other drug services (9.6%), sub and non-acute care (4.7%), and ambulance services (3.2%).
Health returned an operating deficit of $0.440 million after having delivered all major agreed services.
The department’s income includes operating revenue as well as internally generated revenue. The total income from continuing operations for 2022–23 was $34.943 billion, an increase of $2.559 billion (or 7.9%t) from 2021–22.
The report recorded an average of 2,000 daily interactions via Queensland Health virtual care services during 2022-23, while ambulance ramping and response times have been given $764 million funding to implement the Putting Patients First plan. The new HealthQ32 strategic direction maps out a 10-year vision for Queensland Health.
“The fact Queensland Health is outperforming most other states and territories across a range of metrics reflects the skill, commitment and care of its workforce,” Fentiman said.
“Reforming the health system was a top priority last financial year, and I look forward to continuing our hard work to drive better performance and deliver world-class healthcare for Queenslanders, closer to home.”
Other Health highlights for 2022-23 included expanding an ambulance mental health co responders program to 15 new sites. This service gives specialised clinical interventions to approximately 1,400 people a month, assisting about 70% of this cohort to be assisted outside of an emergency department.
The department also completed six trials to expand nurse-to-patient ratios into high-demand areas, including emergency departments and maternity wards.
“We know that there is always more work to do. But we are building more infrastructure, delivering more beds, and hiring more staff, which will deliver better results,” Fentiman said.
The report further outlined the department’s awarding of $8 billion worth of contracts to build new hospitals or undertake upgrades to existing facilities, as well as details on the completion of construction for the North Queensland Distribution Centre — practical completion of the facility was achieved in May 2023.
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