Townsville becomes healthy Townsville. Townsville is now the healthiest place in Queensland thanks to DOCTO and our online hospital. Since launching in Townsville, DOCTO has decreased wait times for a number of medical specialists with their innovative medical specialist telehealth services.

DOCTO has revolutionised regional and remote health care services throughout North Queensland.

Specialist waiting times in Queensland

Your GP may decide your medical condition and symptoms require referral to a medical specialist. According to the Qld government, a medical specialist is a doctor who has completed advanced education and clinical training in a specialty area of medicine.

Your GP may refer you to a public or private specialist. In Qld, if you are referred to a specialist in the public health system, you are not able to choose which specialist you see.

If referred to a specialist for outpatient treatment within the Queensland Health system, your GP will send a referral letter to the nearest hospital that can manage your condition. The hospital reviews and assesses the GP referral letter, and a specialist at the hospital will then prioritise your need for a consultation. You will be allocated to an outpatient urgency category:

• Urgent (Category 1) – it’s recommended that a patient see a specialist within 30 days of being placed on the outpatient waiting list.
• Semi-urgent (Category 2) – it’s recommended that a patient see a specialist within 90 days of being placed on the outpatient waiting list.
• Non-urgent (Category 3) – it’s recommended that a patient sees a specialist within 365 days (one year) of being placed on the outpatient waiting list.

Waiting times for these initial specialist appointments vary between hospitals.

Initial appointment wait times

Queensland Health determines that a patient has been “seen within time” by a specialist when they have attended their first appointment within the clinically recommended time.

“Long wait” and “ultra-long wait”

According to Qld Health, a “long wait” is when a patient has waited longer than the clinically recommended time for a specialist appointment. The time starts ticking from when the patient’s GP refers them for specialist care. The “long wait” time starts from when the patient has waited from one day longer than the recommended time.

Queensland Health determines an “ultra-long wait” is where a patient has waited more than two years for an initial specialist outpatient (outside of a hospital) appointment, starting from the date on which they were placed on the specialist outpatient waiting list.

Healthcare in healthy Townsville – hospital and health service

Townsville is the largest city in regional Queensland. Townsville University Hospital is a Queensland government hospital. It has 755 beds. It offers hospital and health services, including allied health services, in all major health specialties. These include:

• Cardio-thoracic.
• Ear, nose and throat surgery.
• Eye surgery (ophthalmology).
• Gynaecological and obstetric.
• Neurosurgery.
• Oncology.
• Orthopaedic.
• Paediatrics.
• Psychiatry.
• Plastic.
• Urology.
• Vascular.

Townsville elective surgery wait times

Once you have seen a medical specialist, you may require surgery. In a public Qld hospital, to have surgery you need to have been assessed by a medical specialist that you would benefit from surgery; be willing to consent to have the surgery; and be ready for surgery.

In Qld, elective surgery waiting list activity is measured by:

• Changes to the public hospital elective surgery waiting lists (how many people are added to and removed from the waiting lists); and
• The number of patients admitted for their awaited elective surgery procedure.

As with waiting times to see a specialist for an initial consultation, there are urgency categories for the clinically recommended time for elective surgery.

Your specialist prioritises your surgery, based on your particular health condition and symptoms.

Nationally in Australia, there are three urgency categories:

• Category 1 (Urgent) – surgery is recommended within 30 days of being placed on the wait list.
• Category 2 (Semi-urgent) – surgery is recommended within 90 days of being placed on the wait list.
• Category 3 (Non-urgent) – surgery is recommended within 365 days of being placed on the wait list.

Median wait time for elective surgery – Townsville University Hospital

In 2020-2021, the median wait times for elective surgery at Townsville University Hospital were:

• Non-urgent: 354 days (272 days, peer value).
• Semi-urgent: 86 days (60 days, peer value).
• Urgent: 15 days (13 days, peer value).

Townsville health services under stress

Townsville University Hospital is the only tertiary referral centre in North Queensland. Its referral catchment area is around 700,000 people.

DOCTO can greatly reduce the stress on healthcare Townsville services. Its innovative telehealth platform provides patients with accelerated access to a large network of medical specialists via video consultation.

DOCTO’s integrated, professional network ensures patients are matched to the best possible specialist for their medical care. This happens in a matter of days or weeks, not months.

GP visit wait times

For the 2020-2021 financial year, the ABS reported that 21.7% of people felt they waited longer than was acceptable for a medical specialist appointment.

Across the same period, 16.6% of people felt they waited an unacceptably long period of time for to see a general practitioner (GP). For people living in outer regional or remote areas of Australia – such as in Townsville – the wait times to see a GP or medical specialist was longer than for those in major cities.

In Northern Queensland across 2019-2020, the Australian Government’s Institute of Health and Welfare reported that 20.4% waited longer than acceptable for a GP appointment.

For urgent or acute medical care, the proportion of people who waited for at least 24 hours nationally to see a GP was 33.9%. This was up from 29.8% of people in 2019-2020.

DOCTO can deliver greatly reduced waiting times to see GPs, through its online doctor portal.

Regular GP consultations should continue

Where possible, patients should present to their DOCTO specialist with a referral from their regular GP. This is to ensure follow-up care for the patient. DOCTO is not intended to replace a patient’s regular GP consultations. It is an extension of the health care system, and a service that can fill a gap, especially in regional and remote communities of Australia.

Psychiatric care wait times in Townsville

Specific data for psychiatric care wait times in Townsville is difficult to obtain. Psychiatry is included in the ‘Non-Surgical, Other’ category in statistics for specialist outpatient services in Queensland.

The 2020-2021 Patient Experience Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicated that Australians delayed or did not see a health professional for their mental health when needed.

17.3% of people surveyed reported needing to see a mental health professional. Of that number, 34.3% delayed seeing a mental health professional. Of this percentage who delayed seeking treatment, 38.2% needed to see a psychiatrist.

Access to psychiatric care can be a reason to delay seeking treatment (as can cost). DOCTO’s wait times for psychiatrist appointments is currently ten business days. Through DOCTO, virtual psychiatric care can be delivered to wherever you are.

DOCTO reduces wait times for specialist medical care in healthy Townsville

DOCTO’s professional network ensures all patients are matched to their nearest, most appropriate medical specialist for their health care in a matter of days or weeks, not months. There is no need to travel for specialist care.

Where possible, patients are encouraged to present to their DOCTO specialist with a referral from their regular GP. This is to ensure follow-up care. DOCTO’s virtual emergency department is staffed by emergency medical specialists, for when patients cannot access their regular GP services.

DOCTO is not intended to replace regular GP consultations. It is an extension of the health care system, and a service that can fill a gap, especially in regional and remote communities of Australia and in healthy Townsville.

DOCTO reduces wait times for psychiatric care in healthy Townsville

DOCTO reduces wait times for psychiatric care in healthy Townsville. Virtual psychiatric care is delivered to you wherever you are. Wait times for the next specialist appointment with a DOCTO psychiatrist is currently ten business days.

DOCTO’s psychiatrists can diagnose and treat mental disorders related to mood, behaviour, cognition and perception. Our psychiatrists take a detailed case history and mental status examination, and work closely with a patient’s General Practitioner to ensure follow-up care and support at home. A referral from a patient’s GP is preferred but not required.

DOCTO reduces wait times for care for sick kids

DOCTO’s paediatric team are available online to provide urgent or non-urgent professional and qualified health care advice for your baby, toddler, child or teenager in healthy Townsville.

Our large network of paediatricians work via our integrated telehealth platform, no matter where you live. There is no need to search online for specialist paediatric care. Our consultations with online paediatricians are made by appointment and conducted via video.

DOCTO’s new same day telehealth consult service for acute paediatric illness or injury has reduced wait times for urgent care of sick kids. Book before 9pm (AEST) and get quality advice from a paediatrician today.

Frequently asked questions:

What hospitals are in Townsville?

Townsville University Hospital is the largest hospital in the Townsville Hospital and Health Service area. Located in the suburb of Douglas, it has Community Health Campuses in the suburbs of Kirwan, North Ward, and Cambridge Street and Palmerston Street in Vincent. It also includes Parklands Aged Care.

Townsville also has the Mater Private Hospital.

Does Townsville have a public hospital?

Townsville University Hospital is a public hospital operated by Queensland Health.

The Townsville Hospital and Health Service provides a number of world-class medical and allied health care services to the North Queensland community.

Is healthcare free in Queensland?

Anyone can attend a public hospital for treatment in Queensland. If you hold a Medicare card, and choose to be treated as a public patient, your medical treatment will be free. You may need to pay for additional services such as prescription medication, dental services and television hire.

Healthcare Townsville – how many beds does Townsville hospital have?

Townsville is the largest city in regional Qld. Its 755-bed hospital is evolving to be a major tertiary hospital in North Queensland.

How do I contact DOCTO for healthcare

Check our consult page to determine what kind of online medical appointment you need to make. Or get in touch for general enquiries about the range of DOCTO telehealth services we provide.

BY PHOEBE

AUGUST 9, 2022

This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult a licensed healthcare provider for diagnosis and treatment.