Ambulance ramping inquiry: NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard slams hospital claims

Workers exposing “third world” conditions in NSW hospitals have been lashed by Health Minister Brad Hazzard who says staff might be good doctors but they lack the skills to manage the system.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard has slammed “ridiculous” claims from his own health workforce that NSW hospitals are facing “third world” conditions after a parliamentary inquiry heard explosive evidence on hospital overcrowding.

An upper house inquiry into ambulance ramping – when paramedics are unable to offload patients and admit them into hospital on time – revealed harrowing evidence of hospitals not coping.

Mr Hazzard claimed doctors who spoke at this week’s inquiry “are very good in their own areas (and) extremely good clinicians, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re good at managing an entire system.”

The Health Minister who helmed NSW through Covid added the state has the “greatest number of nurses and doctors ever in the state’s history”.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

“Having said that, why would they (doctors) be saying that? They’d be saying it is because they (have been) under massive pressure in the last two and a half years as a result of Covid and that’s very understandable.”

His sympathies ended when asked what his response was to doctors stating they were working in “third world” conditions.

“Well they want go and work in the third world, that’s a ridiculous proposition,” he said.

“They’re very, very good clinicians in terms of dealing with medical issues, but they don’t necessarily have the management skills to manage the puzzle. And that becomes a huge challenge.”

Emergency rooms in Western Sydney are overcrowded, leaving paramedics unable to offload patients.

Emergency Medicine expert Dr James Tadros said Western Sydney hospitals were operating at 100 per cent capacity – pushing workers to “struggle with every shift”.

“Most hospitals, especially within Western Sydney, are operating at 100, or close to 100, or even over 100 per cent capacity,” he said.

“We are seeing people who, you know, just struggle with every shift and I think it’s very unfortunate … They are used to operating in a situation which is always a disaster.

“We work in an environment that we don’t see as conducive to good medical care.”

Dr Tadros gave evidence of an elderly patients with kidney failure waiting for help for hours before other witnesses recounted similar stories and that some were waiting up to 36 hours for admission.

Australian College of Emergency Medicine president Dr Clare Skinner described ambulance ramping and overcrowding was the “permanent state of being” in NSW hospitals.

Australasian College of Emergency Medicine President Dr Clare Skinner. Picture: AAP

She acknowledged that ambulance ramping was not unique to NSW and the state had done “well compared to other states” to manage the issue.

“It’s fair to say that Covid was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” she said.

“I can honestly tell you that the kettle feels dry at the moment.”

Dr Skinner said “it’s not rare, it’s common” for hospitals to see ambulance ramping.

Delays were felt strongly by mental health patients and those in rural and regional areas.

Northern Rivers surgeon Dr Sue Velovski said agitated patients were turning to self-harming or harming staff.

In the Northern Rivers, Lismore Base Hospital nurses and midwives went on strike for better patient to nurses ratios on September 1. Picture: Tessa Flemming

“It’s dangerous for our staff, dangerous for our patients, and they’re waiting extraordinary hours to be seen in a very crowded facility,” she said.

“All these little systems that have been broken contribute to increased complications, increased morbidity.”

The region, which has been devastated by natural disasters, is also seeing cancer patients return home to tents in the rain after treatment.

NSW Nurses and Midwives Association member and Northern Rivers senior registered nurse Suzanne Melchior said she had seen mental health patients waiting more than 32 hours for a bed.

“In my memory, the longest time that I’ve had a mental health patient waiting for a mental health bed in this department here was 32-and-a-half hours,” she said.