The families of dozens of hospital patients have received a personal apology from Queensland Premier Steven Miles on the election campaign trail as new polling suggests Labor is still in the race.
Patients who had bowel procedures at Brisbane's Redland Hospital received care "below an accepted standard" in the decade to 2018, a Queensland Health review found.
On Saturday, Mr Miles said he was aware of the case while he was health minister, adding it had occurred across several governments.
"We did order that investigation, which now has discovered those sub-optimal clinical outcomes," he told reporters in Bundaberg.
Families impacted by Labor's Redland Hospital cover-up deserve answers from a Government that prioritised their political survival over patient survival. — David Crisafulli (@DavidCrisafulli) pic.twitter.com/INIqyp2ZFVOctober 19, 2024
"I'd like to personally apologise to the families of those who have been affected and assure them that Queensland Health will work with them going forward."
He said "those thought responsible" were no longer working in the state's public health system.
An excerpt of the report was released on Friday but pages 17 to 146 have not been made public.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli took his campaign to a market in Redland Shire, saying the community had been rocked by the "bombshell report".
"It's a report that shows deceit, shows a community so badly let down and a government that has many, many questions to answer," he said.
Mr Crisafulli acknowledged the procedures in the report took place across three governments, including when the LNP was in power.
He alleged there had been a "cover-up from the government" since concerns were raised in 2018 and called for the full report to be released.
"This was one of the greatest cover-ups in the shadow of an election, of a report the government has known about for over half a decade," he said.
"Queensland Health will never be fixed unless the government changes."
A YouGov poll shows Labor's Steven Miles has made ground on David Crisafulli as preferred leader. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)
It came as Mr Miles received a polling boost with his personal popularity rising to 36 per cent, one point shy of Mr Crisafulli.
However, the YouGov poll of 1503 people commissioned by the Courier-Mail newspaper showed the LNP was 10 points ahead on a two-party preferred basis.
Mr Miles would not be drawn on whether the time his predecessor Annastacia Palaszczuk stayed in the job had impacted his chance of retaining power, saying there was one more week to go for voters to find out more about the alternative premier.
"I've always said that this election would be very, very hard throughout the entire 10 months and that hasn't changed," Mr Miles said.
Mr Crisafulli said he expected the election to be close and talked up his party's underdog status.
"Have a look at the history of the Queensland Parliament and you realise how large the task ahead of us is," he said.
"We have to win over a dozen seats plus hold those that we have."