Health authorities confirm Queensland ambulance ramping crisis is worsening

Queensland Health has confirmed ambulance wait times are worsening across the state as hundreds of patients are forced to wait for hospital beds.

National ambulance coordinator for the United Workers Union Fiona Scanlon said while ramping issues had been slowly improving, allowing paramedics to get back on the road to help sick patients faster, the state was once again facing a crisis.

"We had seen some improvement, that is true," Ms Scanlon said.

"But we're back to, in March, the levels where we see ambulances waste 500 hours a day."

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Documents sourced by the opposition during a right to information process revealed some patients were waiting more than 10 hours for an ambulance to arrive, due to a lack of hospital beds creating delays for the Queensland Ambulance Service.

In the last year, some have died in their homes whilst waiting for help.

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Opposition Leader David Crisafulli said more needed to be done by the state government.

"Queenslanders are not comfortable waiting ten hours for an ambo to come up," Mr Crisafulli said.

"That's the Queensland health crisis and it is biting every day."

Concerns are rising that ramping issues will continue to worsen, as the number of patients requiring treatment for COVID-19 or the winter flu is set to increase.

"Is it where we want to be? No," Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said today.

"It's not just about paramedics it's also about opening up beds."

Ms D'Ath said an additional 26 hospital beds would soon be in use at Brisbane's Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital from June, part of a $12.1 million package to cope with increased hospital demand.

"Our staff our exhausted," she said.

"Every hospital and health service right now is working on a fatigue policy to help our staff take leave because it has been a very difficult two years."