Queensland ambulance ramping at 42% as paramedics report long delays

Queensland paramedics say hospital handover delays can occupy entire shifts, leaving them unable to attend urgent calls, as August figures show 42 per cent of ambulance patients across the state's 26 leading public hospitals were ramped.

Ramping occurs when patients remain on ambulance stretchers for more than 30 minutes awaiting transfer to emergency department care. The statewide rate was 43.9 per cent in August 2024, before the LNP won government that October.

At Logan, Redland and QEII hospitals, more than 60 per cent of ambulance arrivals faced handover delays exceeding half an hour. QEII recorded the state's highest rate for August, at 64.8 per cent.

A Metro South paramedic, speaking anonymously, said some shifts lasting 10 or 12 hours were spent waiting at hospital with a single patient. He said urgent cases requiring lights and sirens had sometimes waited two or three hours for an ambulance.

An investigation is examining the case of a 51-year-old Annerley man who called Triple Zero with chest pains. Paramedics found him dead about two hours later. He lived a few streets from Princess Alexandra Hospital.

The Queensland Ambulance Service acknowledged staff concerns about growing demand but said response times for the most critically ill patients had improved over the past year.

Health Minister Tim Nicholls said he remained hopeful the government could bring statewide ramping below 30 per cent by October 2028. He said 1,400 public hospital patients were awaiting aged care placements or National Disability Insurance Scheme support, and called for greater federal assistance.