DISGRUNTLED locals say Redland Hospital is understaffed and have complained about long emergency wait times, as pressure mounts on the state government to address ramping.
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The community had their say during an LNP-hosted forum at Redlands RSL, where opposition leader David Crisafulli again proposed using real-time data to keep track of emergency departments.
Opposition health spokeswoman Ros Bates said the state's health system was in crisis and it was evident at Redland Hospital, where ramping rates had hit 65 per cent in June.
It was the worst performing emergency department of all major Queensland Hospitals for the month, seeing it fall behind Logan and Brisbane's QEII Hospital.
Mr Crisafulli said real-time data could be introduced almost immediately and at little cost to taxpayers.
"Let's share it with Queenslanders. Let's do that so people can see in real time what's happening as we see in other states," he said.
"That enables doctors to make decisions on patient flow, and that's the way to shine a light on the system.
"When we talk about putting doctors and nurses in charge, that doesn't cost any money."
Local man Dennis Schulze said he had waited five and a half hours at Redland Hospital after seeking treatment for a perforated bowel.
"There was one doctor on and there would have been at least 30 people in the waiting room," he said.
"It's just not on. This was about 10.30 at night, and it was the early morning before I was seen."
Oodgeroo MP Mark Robinson said ramping had been reduced previously and it could be done again with better management and more frontline resources.
"We reduced it down to 15 per cent and that happened within a couple of years," he said.
"As soon as you put in place a system that drives ramping down, it will start coming down immediately.
"We have already done this, so it has been demonstrated that you can get on top of ambulance ramping if you put in place measures like real-time data."
Ms Bates said Redland Hospital was ground zero for ramping as she called on Health Minister Yvette D'Ath to make patient care a top priority.
"I have been at Gladstone, Mackay, Robina and Gold Coast hospitals, and I can tell you that on a daily basis, the larger hospitals are looking for 100 staff to replace those on normal sick leave," she said.
"Staff are at their wits' end, working double shifts and they are exhausted. This was long before COVID got here."
About 40 people attended the forum, many of whom said they were LNP voters.
The Health Minister and the health department were contacted for comment.
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