Blacktown Hospital emergency wait times on the rise
Emergency patients at this Sydney hospital are waiting some of the longest times for treatment across the state, according to the latest NSW hospitals snapshot.
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Doctors and nurses have struggled to keep up with demand as record numbers of patients flood Blacktown Hospital’s emergency department, leading to a rise in wait times.
The latest data from the Bureau of Health information reveals Blacktown Hospital ED saw 14,098 patients from July to September 2019, up almost 559 patients from the same quarter last year.
A rise in demand saw a blowout in treatment times, with only 42.3 per cent of emergency patients starting treatment on time, a drop from 66.9 per cent for the same time in 2018.
The added strain was also seen in hospital treatment times, with more than half or 50.2 per cent of all emergency patients waiting longer than the four-hour benchmark to leave ED.
This marked a drop of almost 14 percentage points from the year prior and was significantly less than the state average of almost 65 per cent or patients receiving treatment on time.
Alarmingly, one in ten patients in emergency waited longer than 18 hours and 32 minutes, an increase of more than six hours from the previous year.
According to the data released on Wednesday, patients in Blacktown waited up to 23 minutes longer, or four hours and two minutes in the last quarter to leave ED, well above the state average of three hours and 18 minutes.
The number of patients starting treatment on time also dropped during the busy quarter, down from about 70 per cent to 56.5 per cent.
Blacktown and Mt Druitt hospitals general manager Ned Katrib said the quarter marked the move of Blacktown Hospital’s emergency department into the new building.
“Blacktown Hospital ED moved to a new building in August as part of the $700 million Blacktown and Mount Druitt hospitals expansion project, and we are working closely with staff to continually review our models of care in the redesigned department, and want to thank them for their hard work,” Mr Katrib said.
“The department is also continuing to implement a new patient experience model to help ensure patients are kept informed and comfortable while they wait for treatment.”
He said both Blacktown and Mt Druitt experienced a rise in emergency patients.
“Mount Druitt Hospital experienced significant increases in ED presentations, up 11.5 per cent to 10, 251, an additional 1,057 more patients than in the same quarter last year,” he said.
“Mount Druitt Hospital also experienced a 37.7 per cent rise in the number of patients arriving by ambulance, up by 490 on the same quarter last year, to 1,789.
“The $700 million Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals Expansion Project is helping ensure we’re ready for future demand.
“We remind patients that emergency departments are for emergencies only. If you are unsure, Healthdirect Australia provides 24-hour health advice on 1800 022 222.”
Speaking at the hospital on Wednesday, NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay and Labor health spokesman Ryan Park said patients in Blacktown were among those waiting the longest in emergency departments across the state.
“More patients are suffering and are in pain for longer in our emergency departments and people are waiting longer for the surgery they desperately need,” Ms McKay said.
She said despite the hospital’s recent $700 million upgrade as part of the Blacktown and Mt Druitt hospitals expansion project, the figures painted a “grim picture” for local healthcare.
“It’s not just about a building, it has to be about the staff – the doctors, the nurses, the ancillary staff – making sure waiting times and elective surgery waiting times are not blowing out as they are,” she said.
Blacktown state Labor MP Stephen Bali called on the State Government to increase staffing at the hospital.
“Over the past three years, we’ve seen the quarterly admissions go from 10,000 to 14,000, but we have the same amount of services,” Mr Bali said.
“It’s nice to have a large building but we need services to match today’s demand and we’re just not getting that.”