Weak political leadership has allowed competing interests to fester in Australian hospitals, leading to extended delays and poorer outcomes for patients, according to a former state leader. The comments come after video emerged in September showing the extensive “ambulance ramping” at one Melbourne hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ambulance ramping is the time patients spend waiting outside a hospital in an ambulance while emergency departments clear space for them. One harrowing incident saw a seven-year-old girl die from fever after waiting two hours to be attended at Perth Children’s Hospital. Meanwhile, a Melbourne paramedic claimed she spent eight of one 12-hour shift waiting outside emergency departments. Campbell Newman, former Liberal-National Premier of Queensland (2013 to 2015) and now-Senate candidate, said that while more health funding was always needed for a growing population, a “hell of a lot more” could be achieved by better management of the system. “The trouble is …