Five Point Plan for Flu Season

Published Wednesday, 11 May, 2016 at 08:02 PM

Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services
The Honourable Cameron Dick

The Palaszczuk Government is preparing Queensland’s public hospitals for a tough flu season with a five point plan to drive efficiencies, keep emergency departments moving and get ambulances back on the road.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Cameron Dick today unveiled the government’s five point plan to prepare the health system for the challenges of the flu season.

The Minister said that each winter there was a rise in activity in hospitals as the number of Queenslanders presenting to emergency departments skyrocketed.

“Every year we know the flu season hits our hospitals hard. The Palaszczuk Government is doing its part to prepare our hospitals for this surge of patients.

“We know that the flu season starts in June and peaks in August. What our government is doing is getting ahead of the game and meeting this challenge head on.”

The government’s five point plan will:

  1. Provide an additional $15 million to Health and Hospitals Services;
  2. Deliver access to an extra 139 beds across the state to provide surge capacity in areas of high demand;
  3. Deploy 12 new Clinical Initiative Nurses (CINs) in metropolitan hospitals to supervise patients arriving by ambulance and get QAS resources back on the road faster; 
  4. In partnership with the CSIRO, use large data sets to make staffing hospitals and emergency departments during winter more efficient; and
  5. Bring forward the recruitment of additional paramedics in response to raising demand for services.

Mr Dick said it was vital Hospital and Health Services across the state have all the tools at their disposal to respond to this seasonal peak.

“The Government will do its part, but we need help from Queenslanders. Too many people are using EDs for ailments that could be better treated by a GP,” he said.

“The best thing Queenslanders can do is to get a flu jab and go and see their GP to proactively manage their health concerns – let’s keep emergency departments for emergencies.”

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Andrew Fraser 0428 690 679