Doctors have been stranded at hospitals overnight, while others are working back-to-back shifts to cover colleagues who cannot get through floodwaters, says the college of emergency physicians.

The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) says doctors and their communities are being hit hard by unprecedented floods in Queensland and northern NSW, placing the health system under “extreme widespread pressure”. 

“Due to floodwaters, many healthcare workers are unable to get to hospitals to work, so there are significant staffing pressures being experienced across Queensland and northern NSW,” said Queensland deputy chair Dr Shantha Raghwan in a statement.

“Many staff are sleeping at hospitals, as they cannot leave.