NSW Intensive care: outrages as number of vacant beds drops to 85, promise of capacity booster

The number of active, vacant intensive care beds across the state has reached ‘dwindling numbers’, with just 85 currently available to patients needing specialist care.

A new pandemic response report has revealed NSW has just 85 active ICU beds left vacant across the state — as rising numbers of Covid-19 patients are admitted into intensive care units.

The NSW Adult Intensive Care Services pandemic response planning report revealed the total number of commissioned adult ICU beds currently available across the state was 592.

On Tuesday, the NSW Government revealed there were 107 Covid patients in ICU facilities, while Deputy Premier John Barilaro said a further 400 hospital patients were also admitted into the specialist care units for other medical reasons as of Monday.

ICU staff who are caring and treating COVID-19 positive patients in St Vincent. Photo: Kate Geraghty

It comes as Westmead Hospital has launched its internal disaster management response plan as covid cases presenting to the hospital skyrocket.

“This is to create immediate capacity and response plans along with planning for future scenarios,” a spokeswoman said.

“As an immediate response we have reduced ambulance arrivals for Covid-19 patients for 24 hours, worked with Sydney metropolitan hospitals to transfer several critical patients, conducting urgent reviews with clinicians around critical care capacity, emergency department flow (and) Covid-19 wards.”

The new report, which looks at tackling the state’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic revealed ICU services were provided by a total of 39 public general/combined units “with a proportion of units also accommodating quaternary service beds for severe burns, acute spinal injury, organ transplantation and (heart-lung bypass machines)”.

Meanwhile, a further 22 private ICUs and two private high dependency units were also assisting with patients across the state.

The report disclosed a series of NSW Health failsafes if current ICU capacity is reached across the state — dubbed local pandemic disaster plans.

A series of “existing non-commissioned physical intensive care bed spaces” would allow additional beds by deferring elective surgery requiring post-operative ICU care, converting appropriately monitored beds to intensive care, increasing the use of available private hospital ICU capacity, increased use of palliative care facilities in end-of-life situations.

“Planning for surge capacity staffing will need to cover at least the next 72 hours, with monitoring for staff fatigue and stress and include hospital or LHD strategies to mitigate these,” the report said. “Staffing in the middle of the respiratory pandemic will need to consider a team orientated approach if lesser experienced staff are used in the ICU to support more skilled staff.”

A Covid positive patient being cared for in St Vincent. Photo: Kate Geraghty

A NSW Health spokeswoman said the ministry has the capacity to “quadruple its current ICU capacity if required”.

“There is currently sufficient ICU capacity for all patients who require intensive care, with more than 500 beds available throughout the NSW public health system,” she said. “There would also be ventilators available for each of these (additional) ICU beds.

“The NSW public health system is highly integrated and local health districts and hospitals work together on a daily basis to ensure the optimal delivery of healthcare services across the state.”

Shadow Health spokesman Ryan Park said the dwindling number of available beds was “shocking”.

“Given case numbers are dramatically increasing by hundreds each day — and we are seeing more people admitted to ICU, it is very concerning that there isn’t already an increased capacity for intensive care in local hospitals,” he said.

NSW Shadow Minister for Health Ryan Park. (AAP Image/James Gourley)

It comes as Greens Health spokeswoman Cate Faehrmann forecast a “growing crisis” in ICU facilities across western and southwest Sydney.

“Once again the NSW Government has been too slow off the mark in responding to this outbreak, and it’s costing lives,” she said.

“When I asked the Health Minister during Budget Estimates yesterday whether the state’s ICUs can cope with the growing number of Delta cases, he brushed it aside as though everything was fine.

“Just yesterday Minister Hazzard said that no concerns have been raised with him about ICU capacity in risk or experiencing any major challenge at the moment. Yet, just overnight it’s being reported that at least two thirds of Westmead’s 30 ICU beds are occupied with Covid patients, while lines of ambulances can’t offload their Covid patients, and it’s similar elsewhere.”

Cate Faehrmann MLC speaking at a NSW Budget Estimates Committee Meeting at the NSW Parliament. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

Ms Faehrmann said ICU staff were at “breaking point” and called for the redeployment of ICU nurses from areas with no Covid cases, offer incentives to retired nurses and provide ‘risk payments’ for nurses working on Covid-19 wards.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the state has 2000 ventilators available.

“There has been no concerns raised with me that our ICU capacity is at risk, or any major challenge at the moment,” he said.

NSW Health Deputy Secretary Phil Minns said 400 nurses had been put through an ICU refresher program last year.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard during an update on COVID-19 in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker