LNP allege Qld hospital report cover-up

Queensland's LNP opposition allege a cover-up by the Labor government of a scathing report into Brisbane's busy Prince Charles Hospital.

Queensland's Opposition has accused the Labor government of "covering up" a scathing report into one of Brisbane's busiest hospitals.

The report on the Prince Charles Hospital Medical Imaging Unit, obtained by The Courier-Mail, says the IT system is contributing to "clinically unacceptable" delays to scan results and describes the decision not to replace it as inconceivable.

Expert reviewers who assessed the unit for the Metro North Hospital and Health Service also found unacceptable wait times for some biopsies and evidence of a toxic relationship between senior doctors and an inept workplace culture.

Liberal National Party health spokeswoman Ros Bates on Wednesday challenged Health Minister Steven Miles to publicly release the report and act on its findings.

"I think this is a typical Labor cover-up, we saw it time and time again in the last term of government with reports buried or not released," Ms Bates told reporters in Brisbane.

However Dr Miles said the report was commissioned by the hospital's managers, not the government.

"It looks to me like management are doing what their job is - identifying where there are cultural problems and seeking to address them," he told reporters in Townsville.

"Let me be very clear though that while these concerns raised are serious ... no evidence has been presented to me that it's impacted on patient care or patient experience."

Dr Miles said he looked forward to updates about how the hospital managers were implementing the report's recommendations.

The health minister also called on the federal government to fill a billion-dollar funding hole in the state's hospital budget, saying the refusal to meet funding commitments was costing services in regional Queensland.


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Source: AAP



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