An unprecedented flu season has seen the Queensland Ambulance Service receive record numbers of emergency calls during the last two months.
As a result, extra call centre staff have been brought in, the training of new paramedics has been fast-tracked and extra hospital beds added, as emergency services are stretched by flu-stricken Queenslanders.
Health and Ambulance Services Minister Cameron Dick said there had been a 13 per cent increase in 000 calls this financial year, during what he described as a "tough, vicious flu season" which had generated unprecedented demand on emergency services.
While there were no definitive numbers of how many emergency calls where related to influenza, the minister said the infection had certainly contributed to the increase.
"Last Monday (August 14) was the busiest day on record for the QAS with an extra 613 triple zero calls fielded compared to the same day in 2016," Mr Dick said.
"The most significant growth has been in Code 1 cases, the most critical patients, where there has been a 22 per cent increase in the past week, compared to the same period last year.
"In the past fortnight the QAS has experienced eight of its 10 busiest days on record for Code 1 incidents.
"There have been 19,216 confirmed flu cases notified to Queensland Health so far this year and while demand has increased across the state, it's been most prevalent in south-east Queensland."
Another contributing factor to the strain on emergency services is Queenslanders panicking when their flu symptoms worsen.
"We still have a lot of people who are presenting in emergency departments across Queensland hospitals when they don't need to," Mr Dick said.
The minister said residents should try to get themselves to a local doctor or arrange for an in-home doctor visit, before making the call to emergency services.
Mr Dick said it costs $1351 for an ambulance to respond to a call for help and $368 to treat someone in an emergency department while in-home doctor visits could cost as little as $128.
However, the Federal Government is reportedly proposing to cut funding for the national After Hours Home Doctor Service.
"Any cuts to the Medicare rebate for the home doctor service would be a disaster for our state's public hospitals and ambulance service," Minister Dick said.
QAS medical director Dr Stephen Rashford said it was also very important for those with less severe symptoms to avoid calling an ambulance, so emergency services could prioritise those people who were severely ill and those with underlying conditions which put them at greater risk of succumbing to influenza.
The ambulance service expected the high demand to last another week before subsiding.
