NPAQ Nurses Professional Association of Queensland

11/11/2025

Queensland’s Premier has revealed that over 1100 patients are trapped in hospital beds — people who should be receiving care in aged care or NDIS settings, but can’t move because the system is gridlocked.

This isn’t just numbers. It’s our reality. Nurses stretched to breaking point. Patients waiting in corridors. Aged care residents left in hospital because there’s nowhere else for them to go.

The Premier’s right. Queensland’s health system is in crisis, and the funding shortfall from Canberra is part of the problem. But those living it every day already know: the system’s been at breaking point for years.

If you’re a nurse, carer, or patient feeling the impact - we want to hear from you.
Your stories make the truth impossible to ignore.

📧 Email us: hotline@redunion.com.au
💬 Or comment below — what’s happening in your ward, your town, your hospital?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been sent back to the drawing board as Premier David Crisafulli threatens a political brawl over the Commonwealth’s “cruel” hospital funding deal.

10/11/2025

Today marks 107 years since the signing of the armistice which saw the end of the First World War.

As we reflect on the incredible bravery of the Australian men and women who have fought for our country, we must renew our gratitude for their sacrifices - of which more than 100,000 have made the ultimate one.

Australia's involvement in WW1 is one of great magnitude and bloodshed. A small country just 13 years since federation, Australia answered the call to enter the Great War and more than 62,000 perished - over 1.2% of our total population. More to the point, nearly 15% of all the men that enlisted paid the ultimate price.

To understand the sheer scale of the sacrifices made, that equates to 326,400 dead as a proportion of our population today.

The courage and patriotism of all the men and women who have died for our country has left an indelible mark on our nation's history. There is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend, and we enjoy the freedoms we have today because of the men and women who have done so.

Let's honour their memory and commemorate their legacy. Lest we forget.

06/11/2025

When aged care breaks down, hospitals bear the cost & nurses carry the load.

The ABC’s latest investigation shows older Australians waiting months just to be assessed for care. Some die before they ever get the help they were promised. While they wait, hospital beds fill with patients who could have gone home or into a supported facility if the aged care system worked.

This isn’t “bed block.” It's a system failure.

Nurses see it daily: frail patients stranded in wards, desperate families calling aged care hotlines, colleagues stretched past breaking point. Every delay downstream lands squarely on our wards and our backs.

Until aged care is properly staffed, properly funded, and free from profit motives, hospital overcrowding will only get worse and nurses will keep being asked to do the impossible.

💬 Nurses how often do you see patients stuck in hospital because aged care support isn’t ready?

Families and insiders say the system to assess people for aged care is in crisis, with 116,000 people on the waiting list. Once approved, they join the queue to get a home care package, which stands at more than 120,000.

05/11/2025

After months of frontline staff raising the alarm about dangerous conditions at Kerrisdale Gardens, The Courier-Mail has now reported both the tragedy and the real improvements that have resulted from member advocacy.

Residents are finally safer. Staffing levels are better. Infection control and clinical resources have improved.

This turnaround happened because nurses refused to stay silent. Your courage led to action and shows what’s possible when management listens and acts on frontline feedback.

❤️ To every nurse and carer who spoke up, thank you. You’ve made a difference.

What other changes would you like to see in aged care?

👉 Read the full story:

An 85-year-old retiree suffering from dementia died after being left unsupervised by his aged care provider in the hot Queensland sun for hours.

04/11/2025

🏥 New Aged Care Reforms: Who Pays What?

Australia’s aged care system is changing again. Under the new reforms, self-funded retirees and some pensioners will now pay more towards their care, while the government reduces its contribution by billions over the next decade.

That means higher out-of-pocket costs for everyday living and independence supports like showering, meals, and medication management. The idea? To “sustain” the system and shorten waiting lists.

But there’s a deeper issue. If older Australians can’t afford the care they need at home or in residential facilities, where will they go? Hospitals.

Already at breaking point. Already facing “bed block” and delayed discharges every single day. Aged care reform can’t come at the cost of acute care. We need a system that supports ageing with dignity, not one that pushes more people through emergency doors.

💬 Do you think these new aged care fees could increase pressure on hospitals and emergency departments?
Share your thoughts below or email us: hotline@redunion.com.au

A new fee structure for aged care takes effect today. Find out what it will mean for you.

29/10/2025

🚨 SECRET DOCUMENTS CONFIRM WHAT NURSES HAVE BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG 🚨

Gladstone Hospital ED is in crisis. Internal reports accessed by The Courier-Mail show what NPAQ nurses have been shouting for months:

🧯 Critically ill patients left in hallways
📉 Dangerous understaffing — putting nurses' registrations on the line
🏥 Unmonitored areas used for high-risk patients
📋 Workload grievance and Riskman's — dismissed or ignored

And what did leadership do?
❌ Deny it
❌ Refuse to meet frontline nurses
❌ Direct them to failing escalation pathways

📢 We will not let these voices be silenced.

👉 Join NPAQ!
👉 Demand ratios. Demand respect. Demand truth.

Explosive internal documents have exposed shocking scenes inside the Gladstone Hospital emergency department that directly contradict public assurances from Queensland’s Health Minister and the hospital's chief executive that no patients were left unattended.

23/10/2025

EB12 has passed. But nurses deserve far better. Yes, a pay rise and backpay are coming, but let’s not pretend this is a win.

Two things have become abundantly clear: striking does nothing, and the EB process is a sham. The 11% increase is the same increase the Government first offered back in May, despite months of industrial action and plenty of noise.

🧾 Meanwhile: power bills are up 18%, rent is up 25%, groceries are up 14%, and housing prices have skyrocketed by 28%. Your wages? Still falling well behind.

This isn’t a real wage rise. It’s a rebranded pay cut.

NPAQ stands for a real solution: 💡 Restructure the bureaucracy. 💵 Restore funding to the frontline. 🗳 Give power back to communities.

We will keep fighting for better pay, better care, and a system that works for nurses and patients, not paper-pushers.

21/10/2025

💔 “The staff were good. They were competent but there were too few of them.”

In this powerful piece by Sydney GP Dr Marie Healy, we see what happens when care collapses because our system is stretched beyond breaking.

Her story of her sister’s hospital stay is every nurse’s nightmare: too many patients, too few staff, basic needs unmet, humanity lost in the paperwork.

Do you feel the system is collapsing?

I’m a Sydney GP. My sister once won a nurse of the year award. But what we witnessed over a week at a public hospital shocked us both.

09/10/2025

SAVE THE DATE – A Seminar That Inspires Change in Breast Cancer Care💝

📅 29 November 2025 | 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM
📍 Hervey Bay Boat Club, QLD
💲 NPAQ members have an exclusive 10% discount!

Aidera invites you to an exclusive half‑day seminar:
💗 “Evolving Trends in Breast Cancer Treatment & Cold Cap Campaign” 💗
✨ Why Attend?
✔ Stay at the forefront of breast cancer diagnostics
✔ Collaborate & connect with multidisciplinary healthcare leaders
✔ Make an impact by supporting the Cold Cap Campaign'
✔ Help public cancer patients retain dignity during chemotherapy
☕ BONUS: Complimentary Breakfast Education Session presented by Regional Health Group, featuring the Paxman Scalp Cooling System

🎟 Seats are limited – Register by 14 Nov 2025! Reserve your spot!
🔗https://hubs.la/Q03MTxJg0

💝 Refer your healthcare professional colleagues– When they register, you go into the draw to WIN a Sunset Twilight Cruise aboard the Amaroo at the Hervey Bay Boat Club!

Fill out this form.

07/10/2025

🗣 “The system is unsafe now — and as demand continues to rise, without reform, more tragedies are inevitable.”

That’s what NPAQ President Kara Thomas told the Courier-Mail in response to the disturbing reports from Bundaberg and Toowoomba hospitals.

Patients with broken bones are waiting up to 15 hours in ED without access to radiology. Some are leaving untreated. Flex wards built for 10 patients are holding 17. Overcrowding, delays, and misdiagnoses are becoming the norm

Nurses are filing RiskMan reports — only to have them closed without action, ignored, or met with intimidation. Many are told they “don’t have a choice” but to accept unsafe admissions.

This is what happens when nurses are silenced instead of supported. When risk is hidden rather than fixed. And it’s patients who pay the price.

We need to hear directly from you: Are you seeing the same conditions in your hospital or ward? Have you felt pressure to stay quiet about safety issues?

Your voice matters. Share your experiences below (or email us confidentially). It’s time to end the culture of fear and fight for the safe system our patients and nurses deserve. Email us: hotline@redunion.com.au

Patients with broken bones are waiting so long for X-rays at a major regional emergency department they are taking themselves home or seeking care from a GP instead.

25/09/2025

📢 Nurses Speak Up: Hervey Bay Hospital in Crisis

Listen to this powerful ABC Wide Bay audio report exposing what’s happening inside Hervey Bay Hospital — corridor nursing, unsafe staffing, bed block and staff burnout. 👉 Watch below from 00:40

We hear and stand with our members. The voices behind the wards tell a story the system is trying to hide:

🔹Patients left in corridors, overflow spaces, and unmonitored areas
🔹Nurses forced to double bunk patients
🔹A system under strain as population growth, chronic disease, and aged care delays collide

This is a hospital system in collapse. But your voice helps make it visible.

It’s time to demand better:

🔹Safe staffing and skill mix
🔹Real movement on aged care & NDIS discharge delays
🔹An end to corridor care
🔹Strong protections for staff who speak out

📣 Share this. Tag the Minister. Let’s push for justice and safety—for patients, for nurses, for our community.

Local news, updated weekdays at 6:30am.