Qld premier makes $250m election promise to free up hospital beds

Premier Anna Bligh has made a  $250 million  election promise over three years to free up beds in hospitals in Queensland.

Australian Associated Press reported that emergency departments (EDs) in southeast Queensland would be upgraded and 76 new bays added, 89 rehabilitation beds installed and 30 new nurse practitioners would work in EDs.

“We need to do much better on our emergency department waiting times,” Ms Bligh said.

Emergency department upgrades worth $144.5 million will occur at hospitals in Brisbane, Logan, Redlands, Ipswich, Caboolture, Bundaberg and Toowoomba.

The rehabilitation beds in the Brisbane suburb of Sandgate, in Redcliffe near the city and in Townsville are linked to the upgrades of emergency departments. They will allow for patients to be moved from emergency into wards.

“One of the issues that challenges our emergency departments is moving those patients who need to be admitted out of emergency and into a ward,” Ms Bligh said.

“Too often those wards are blocked because we have frail, aged patients who need rehabilitative care and transition care between either going home permanently or going into a full aged care place.”

Ms Bligh said every night in Queensland up to 450 acute care beds were occupied by those who did not need that level of care.

Ms Bligh said $7.8 million would be provided for new nurse practitioners to help cut waiting times in emergency wards.

This commitment is the first significant announcement of new funding made by the Labor government ahead of the 21 March election, she said.

The Federal Government will provide the bulk of the funds for the other initiatives under Commonwealth/State arrangements.

Regulations will also be changed to allow registered nurses to discharge patients from hospital with the consent of a doctor.