Queensland Health

Queensland Health is the public health system in Queensland, Australia, comprising sixteen statutory Hospital and Health Services (HHS), the Department of Health and Queensland Ambulance Service. Each HHS provides health services to its local area, with Children's Health Queensland supporting state-wide paediatric specialist services. The Department of Health provides corporate support such as payroll, finance, information technology and procurement, and provides clinical governance over the health system's operations. Queensland Health provides free or low-cost health services to Medicare card holders in Queensland, and some services to New South Wales and Northern Territory patients where services are unavailable locally.

The Queensland Government was the first state government to introduce free, universal public hospital treatment in 1946, a policy later adopted by other states and territories. Most HHS also have associated foundations or charities which raise discretionary funds to support medical research or non-clinical programs. Queensland Health employs over 130,00 people state-wide and has an annual operating budget of A$28.9 billion. At the end of June 2024, Queensland Health had 13,810 beds, including day treatment chairs and observation ward spaces, between 300-400 of which are Intensive Care beds.