Patients cleared by Gold Coast University Hospital doctors are staying in rooms at Sea World Resort, to help free up acute care hospital beds.
A Gold Coast Health spokeswoman said patients staying at the Southport lower acuity accommodation were cleared by their doctor to be transferred, and strict clinical criteria for patient eligibility applied.
The arrangement has been in place since the beginning of the month, the spokesperson said.
LNP Bonney MP Sam O'Connor raised concerns in parliament about the practice, saying in one case the height of the elderly man's hotel bed could not be adjusted and the chairs were not suitable for a patient with fractures.
Gold Coast Health said they were unable to comment on an individual case.
The transfer of patients from hospital to the resort aims to free up acute hospital beds heading into winter by offering "hotel-type accommodation" for patients who no longer need hospital-based care and are preparing for discharge.
Patients staying at the hotel are cared for by nurses and doctors "24 hours a day, seven days a week, a Gold Coast Health spokesperson said.
"Meals and medication are provided as they would be provided in the hospital setting.
"If required, mobility aids for daily living are provided for patients upon transfer and rooms accessible for people with a disability are allocated.
"Feedback from patients has been overwhelmingly positive."
As of Wednesday there were nine patients at the resort, but that number fluctuates.
Not a new concept, minister says
Asked about the elderly patient's case, Queensland's new Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said she was happy to talk to him about his experience and any review which may be required.
"Of course we will always take complaints from constituents very seriously, but these are decisions made by clinicians and we respect them," she said.
She told parliament the lower acuity accommodation model of care was designed to help with bed flow pressures and it "was not a new concept".
The Australia Medical Association Queensland's Dr Maria Boulton said private hospitals have transferred low-care patients to hotels in the past.
"I just think it's something that they're doing to try and innovate and try to find capacity where we know that beds are short," she said.
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