Queensland's Health Minister has admitted the state's hospital system is struggling to cope with demand, and fears the coming flu season could exacerbate the problem.
In recent weeks, the state's health sector has faced repeated criticism from the Opposition and doctors over ambulance ramping and hospital wait times.
Australasian College for Emergency Medicine's Queensland deputy chair Shantha Raghwan described the situation as "dire" and "dangerous".
"Access block is a huge issue and we have been talking about it for decades," Dr Raghwan said.
Access block occurs when a patient is admitted to a hospital from the emergency department but cannot leave the emergency department due to a lack of inpatient hospital beds.
"Really it is a mismatch between resources and we have the services that are required by the community at the moment."
Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said the problem was driven "by other factors that we cannot control", including the COVID-19 pandemic and failings in the aged care sector.
"When you can't afford private health insurance, when you can't get into private specialists, when you cannot access GPs, when you cannot get an NDIS package, when you cannot get the support you need in aged care you turn to the public health system," she said.
"We have 520 long-stay patients who do not require medical care in our hospitals today who need an NDIS or aged care package.
"We have another 462 patients in our public hospital beds with COVID and an additional 49 patients in private."
Ms D'Ath said more than 1,600 health staff were also isolating due to COVID.
'We are worried': Surge in flu cases
Queensland Health's acting chief operating officer Dr David Rosengren said he expected the flu season could further increase demand on hospitals.
He said the state had seen a surge in influenza cases over the "last couple of weeks", including an increase in people admitted to intensive care with the illness.
"Don't contribute to the burden of demand on our emergency departments by finding yourself in the back of an ambulance being transported to a hospital because you haven't found the time or effort to get a flu vaccine."
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said the state's health system was in crisis "long before" COVID and that immediate action was required.
"COVID was that added pressure on the health system but it's been over half a decade in decline and we have now reached the situation where experts are telling patients and staff to come forward and tell their stories.
He called on the Queensland government to release "real-time" hospital data.
AMAQ president Chris Perry said the hospital overcrowding was a product of chronic underfunding rather than the pandemic.
"There's 9 per cent of gross domestic product being spent on health and it's been like that for 40 years," he said.
"We're very disappointed with the health policies of both major parties.
"Both sides of the house in both levels of parliament of Australia have been shooting the messenger: it is all doctors' fault, somebody else's fault, it is never them.
"We need somewhere between $20 billion and $30 billion in the forward estimates to get our hospitals in Australia back to the level that we need.
"We need to increase the [Medicare] rebates so that GPs can stay afloat.
'Shared responsibility'
Ms D'Ath said the state had delivered "consecutive record health budgets" but needed more funding from the federal government to improve hospital performance.
"This is not about shifting responsibility it's about sharing responsibility, and it's not about politics," she said.
"We need investment and Commonwealth health funding in aged care, in NDIS, in private health insurance and we need more support for GPs."
Mr Crisafulli agreed Queensland needed "more from the Commonwealth" but said the state government needed to act.
"That involves working with Canberra for more money, but it also involves fixing the things you are accountable for," he said.
"Start by sharing data in real time … start by putting doctors and nurses back in charge, look at the way you triage in the ED."
