Doctors Work to Fix Queensland's Hidden Waiting Lists
It is Friday, 7 August 2026, at 12:12 pm.
Queensland's medical group says over 362,000 people are waiting to get on the surgery list.
In short:
The Australian Medical Association Queensland has made a new team to fix the waiting list problem.
The deputy premier says the government is trying to reduce the waiting lists.
What's next?
The team will give the government advice in early 2027.
Queensland's medical group is trying to fix the waiting list problem.
The government says it has reduced the surgery waiting list, with 60,000 people waiting as of May.
But the Australian Medical Association Queensland says over 362,000 people are waiting to get on the list, which is up 15% from last year.
The president of the AMAQ, Associate Professor Erica Gannon, says a new team will try to fix the issue.
Erica Gannon says the team's goal is to find solutions that will help more patients.
Patients are waiting for months or years to find out what care they need.
The working group is the AMA Queensland's way of finding solutions to help patients.
The team has six members, including doctors from different areas of Queensland, and will be led by Dr. Nick Yim.
Dr. Nick Yim says local hospitals are not keeping up with the number of patients being referred to them.
The government says it has improved elective surgery wait times, but many patients are still waiting too long.
The population is growing and aging, and this is causing more complex health problems.
'We are doing everything we can'
The deputy premier was asked why doctors, not the government, are trying to fix the health system problems.
The deputy premier says the government is doing everything it can to reduce the waiting lists and has seen some success.
The government has been in office for a year and a half and is working on big issues, and results are starting to show.
Jarrod Bleijie says the government is doing everything it can to reduce the waiting list.
Dr. Yim talked about the health system pressure in his hometown of Hervey Bay, which is a problem in regional Queensland.
Over 14,000 patients were waiting to see a specialist in May, and many urgent patients were not seen on time.
Dr. Nick Yim says local hospitals are not keeping up with the number of patients being referred to them.
Almost 5,000 patients in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay did not see a specialist close to their home in a two-month period.
Across Queensland, many patients are waiting for an initial appointment, and some are not being seen on time.
The wait list in Central Queensland has increased by 46% compared to last year, and not many patients are being seen on time.
The AMAQ outpatients working group will give the government advice in early 2027.
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