Money alone will not fix long-term capacity problems in Queensland's hospitals, the state's Liberal National Party leader David Crisafulli says, amid calls for more federal funding for hospitals.
Data released on Tuesday revealed almost half of patients waited more than 30 minutes in an ambulance before being admitted to hospitals in southeast Queensland in December.
The state government blames capacity issues on COVID-19 and says the Commonwealth must increase its proportion of health funding.
The federal government currently covers 45 per cent of funding, but the state wants that increased to half.
Mr Crisafulli has backed a 50-50 split, but says more money is not a cure-all for longstanding capacity pressures.
"It would be ideal," the opposition leader told reporters on Wednesday.
"The health budget should and will increase every year, and we should expect and demand Canberra to do the same.
"In the meantime, we have to make sure that the money that is there is spent well."
The opposition leader said the state government's plans have failed to address hospital capacity issues over the last seven years, with the rise in ambulance ramping and emergency department waiting times deeply concerning.
"The numbers have deteriorated not just in recent months, but over half a decade," he said.
"This is half a decade of decline."
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath on Tuesday said COVID-19 was putting immense pressure on hospital systems across the country.
She warned ramping and waiting-time data fluctuated based on demand, and Queensland recorded the highest number of ambulance incidences in a state, with 233 for every 1000 people.
But Mr Crisafulli said the figures showed government policies were failing to fix capacity issues even before the pandemic began.
"The government just can't plan, and can't deliver essential services," the LNP leader said.
While health funding has increased across the board, he said it was reasonable to ask for more, as long as it was spent responsibly.
"There has been an increase in the health budget over the last decade ... it would be wrong to suggest that we shouldn't ask for more," he said.
"But we also have to show why we are going to use that in a better way."
