Blacktown Hospital emergency department scrutinised amid Rouse Hill construction
Staff at a hospital in Sydney’s west claim they are forced to share a single thermometer as patient numbers spike, creating an overcrowded waiting room that has raised a councillor’s ire.
Blacktown
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Health workers have painted a grim picture of a struggling emergency room in Sydney’s west, claiming the whole department at Blacktown Hospital had to share a single thermometer following a surge in the number of patients.
A member of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, speaking on behalf of the union’s Blacktown branch, said the emergency department typically had 50 patients at any given time and “was always lacking in basic resources and equipment”.
“We often have days when the entire department has to wait their turn to use the same bit of equipment,” she said.
A second union member, who previously worked at the same emergency department, said it was “the norm” for broken thermometers and electrocardiogram machines to not be repaired or replaced for extended periods of time.
The Western Sydney Local Health District rejected the claim without addressing it in greater detail.
“Blacktown Hospital is committed to providing high-quality, safe and timely care to all those who require it,” a spokeswoman said.
Patient numbers surge
The spokeswoman said the number of patients presenting to the Blacktown emergency department had risen compared to 2023.
The latest Bureau of Health Information “healthcare quarterly” report shows 16,776 people attended between January and March 2024.
This was 1598 more people than the same period in 2023.
Health Minister Ryan Park said the Minns government had inherited a health system “neglected and under-resourced by the Liberals”.
“It won’t be easy to undo 12 years of the damage the Liberals caused, but we have begun the hard work to turn things around including boosting our workforce, as well as increasing pathways to care both outside the hospital, as well as improving patient flow inside the hospital,” he said.
He said Blacktown Hospital’s emergency department had introduced several strategies to ease wait times, including a streaming model for patients suitable to be fast-tracked and creating an internal waiting room to relieve pressure in the main waiting room.
“The reopening and use of Blacktown’s short stay unit in August 2023 has led to improvements in streamlining sub-acute patients in the ED,” he said.
“This contributed to a 3.4 percentage point improvement in patients being treated on time in the January to March 2024 quarter, compared to the same quarter last year.
“A one-off funding allocation in 2023-24 of $205,000 has supported the establishment of a hybrid face-to-face and virtual model to enhance the capacity of a district-wide hospital in the home service and provide greater equity of access to timely care.”
‘What not to do with a waiting room’
Meanwhile, Blacktown councillor Allan Green says he does not want to see the $700m Rouse Hill Hospital, which is currently under construction, follow in the Blacktown emergency department’s footsteps.
In an email sent to the Rouse Hill hospital project team, and seen by this masthead, Mr Green said the Blacktown emergency department provided “a good case study on what not to do with a waiting room”.
He said the hospital had undergone an $800m upgrade under the previous state government.
But, despite being a “very impressive modern facility with many excellent features”, its emergency waiting room was suffering “due to the small size and poor design”.
Photos obtained by this masthead show Blacktown Hospital’s crowded waiting room.
“Note (the) very poor design of (the) waiting room and the practice of leaving patients in the crowded waiting room with IVs,” Mr Green said.
He pointed out the waiting room area was small at the entrance, and said there needed to be a separate area for patients on intravenous lines.
“There is a clear lack of patient-centred care in the ED,” he said.
Further questions about upcoming hospital
Mr Green has also raised several other concerns about the Rouse Hill project, including the budget and timeline, design of the emergency department and its waiting room, the patient model of care, on-site parking and how many beds will be available.
A Health Infrastructure spokeswoman said the hospital was created out of a commitment to meet the healthcare needs of growing communities in northwest Sydney.
She said the $16m allocated for the new hospital from the 2024-25 state budget would support ongoing planning, including the design, and preparation for a “state-significant development” application.
“Hospitals in NSW are designed in line with the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines, which ensures they are designed based on best-practice research, clinical and consumer input,” she said.
This input includes community consultation with consumers, health staff and stakeholders, whose responses will be incorporated into planning.
The spokeswoman said the new hospital would include a combination of inpatient and outpatient services, including an emergency department, short stay and day surgery.
“The full scope of health services provided by the new hospital, including the capacity of the emergency department and the number of car spaces, will be confirmed when planning and design is finalised,” she said.
The completion date for the new hospital will be confirmed after planning is complete and following the appointment of a building contractor.