A MUNRUBEN man has lashed out at ambulance ramping at Logan Hospital after paramedics waited with his father-in-law for two hours before he was admitted to the emergency ward.
Peter Fontebasso said his father-in-law was taken by ambulance to the emergency ward in December with difficulty breathing.
Mr Fontebasso said it was disappointing that two paramedics and an ambulance were off the road for two hours while they sat with the patient at the hospital.
“Surely something could be done so the ambulances and paramedics can get back out on the road faster - no wonder the wait times for an ambulance is increasing,” he said.
Mr Fontebasso’s claim follows the release of Queensland Health figures showing Logan Hospital waiting times were among the worst in Australia.
Queensland Health figures showed 35 per cent of ambulance patients waited more than 30 minutes before being transferred off stretcher in November 2017.
Only 39 per cent of patients were seen within clinically recommended times in December 2017.
Acting executive director of Logan Bayside Health Network Michael Draheim said increasing demand and stretched resources had taken a toll.
“There has been a 16.8 per cent increase in Emergency Department presentations at Logan Hospital in the past five years with 89,990 presentations in 2017, up from 87,695 in the previous year,” he said.
“Logan Hospital acknowledges that we struggle with Emergency Department performance measures due to a limited number of beds available for our growing community.”
Mr Draheim said the installation of a new digital system in December resulted in a short-term impact on waiting times.
“The system will deliver efficiencies and improvements for patient care but during this transition, it was anticipated that staff adoption of the system could cause delays in admission and discharge of patients,” he said.
“Ongoing consultation with our colleagues in the Queensland Ambulance Service was undertaken to reduce delays on arrival at Logan where possible.”
Logan Hospital is understood to have implemented measures to improve bed availability including patient flow programs, clinical pathway options for chronic disease, alternatives to admission, specific nursing positions and short stay options.