Queensland’s chief health officer has written to the state’s GPs telling them to reduce telehealth consults, saying it was now necessary to “get back” to seeing patients face-to-face, including those with respiratory symptoms.

While acknowledging telehealth fulfilled an “essential need”, Dr Jeannette Young said face-to-face consults would build community confidence in the road back from COVID-19 and “ease the pressure on our emergency departments”.

Her letter included statistics stating that ED presentations rose by nearly 32,000 in January 2021 compared to the same month last year – an 18% increase.

One third of these presentations were “for conditions and ailments that could have been treated by a general practitioner”, she claimed (see the letter below).