In Brisbane,a text message sent to RBWH staff at 9am on Wednesday said the hospital had an “acute shortage of bed capacity across the hospital”.

Staff were asked in the text to focus on clinical priorities and facilitate the discharge of patients where appropriate.

A spokeswoman from Metro North Hospital and Health Service confirmed the Brisbane hospital was experiencing significant demand for services across its facilities,however said the code yellow was not a cause for alarm.

“A code yellow is not cause for alarm in the community but is an internal activation which allows the hospital to distribute resources accordingly,” she said.

“This can include additional surgery hours,extending medical imaging services,bringing in additional staff,and creating additional bed space,if required,to improve timeliness of patient access to services.

“Patient care is paramount and while alternate spaces may be used temporarily in extremely busy periods,these spaces will always be clinically safe and comfortable for our patients.”

An RBWH employee said the increased demand was an ongoing issue.

“I can tell you that patients are being asked to wait for admission to beds in ward corridors and that the emergency department at this hospital has been under significant strain,” she said.

“The situation is becoming unsafe with the overloading and corners are being cut to get patients placed on wards and out of[the emergency department] because the shortage of beds is becoming so dire.

“There does not seem to be any reason why the increase in presentations is occurring but some clinicians suggest it is as a result of delaying of seeking care from the last 12 months of COVID.”

In the past week 17 people have tested positive in the state after returning from PNG.

Flights to Cairns from PNG’sOk Tedi mine were suspended on March 4 after a cluster broke out among workers.

The hospital was still accepting emergency patients but some elective surgeries had been postponed.