Queensland’s border opening just prior to Christmas, coupled with the dramatic rise in cases from the highly infectious Omicron variant and recent adoption of national policy shifts has meant Queensland’s pandemic preparedness has been deeply tested.
An exhausted health workforce and Queenslanders have faced the challenges of the last three weeks with agility, resilience and commitment.
During this time Health Consumers Queensland, consumer and community organisations have been escalating issues, sharing resources, and supporting care providers and consumers.
This Hot Issues Brief paper is a summary of issues of importance to consumers in this response that need to be urgently resolved.