The quarterly Public Hospitals Performance Report shows the number of patients waiting for elective surgery has ballooned to 36,030 - an increase of 1,447 in a 12-month period ending March this year.
But the report showed a record 513,457 people were treated as in-patients or emergencies in the first quarter of this year - up 6.5 per cent, or 31,529 extra patients, compared to the same period last year.
Dr Ross Cartmill, Queensland president of the Australian Medical Association, said little had changed in the health system over the past 12 months.
"The issue is we have chronic underfunding and that is the disease," Dr Cartmill told reporters in Brisbane.
"Until we attack the disease, the symptoms will continue.
"I think the report is just showing that we're continuing to have problems, especially in A&E (accident and emergency) departments.
"We have issues with bed block and people staying in the departments for far too long because they can't get admitted."
Cartmill said the state and federal governments needed to take joint responsibility in boosting health funding.
"I'd simply remind the community we went to the last (federal) election with a promise of a tax refund to the nation to the tune of $31 billion," he said.
"Three (billion dollars) is being held back for education - why aren't we holding back any for health?
"We need more spending on health. This nation desperately needs it."
Queensland Health Minister Stephen Robertson described the report as a "solid start to 2008" for public hospitals in the state.
Robertson said emergency cases continued to hamper Queensland Health's capacity to perform elective surgery.
"Emergency admissions should be the first priority of any hospital system and we are seeing unprecedented increases here in Queensland," he said.
The report showed the number of patients receiving elective surgery had dropped by 614 to 26,393 over 12 months.
But the number of "long waits" for surgery fell from 9,494 to 8,976 between April 2007 and April this year.
The longest waiting lists were for orthopaedic surgery (9,016), followed by general surgery (7,621), eye surgery (4,096) and ear, nose and throat surgery (3,797).
