NSW Hospitals: why south west Sydney wait times are so long for paediatric services

Sick kids with life-threatening health issues are being left on 12 to 18 month waiting lists just to be diagnosed by a specialist in south west Sydney hospitals.

Rob and Samantha Skrzypek with their son Braxton, 7, who has a sleep disorder that results in him falling asleep anywhere. They have been waiting 18 months for a diagnosis. Picture:Justin Lloyd

A third of Sydney’s children suffering from serious health issues ranging from congenital heart disease to diabetes and epilepsy are missing out on timely access to paediatric specialist due to major shortfalls in funding.

Campbelltown and Camden Paediatrics representatives told a parliamentary inquiry Sydney’s two Children’s Hospitals have “limitations in serving the needs of South West Sydney”, while revealing kids with life-threatening health issues are forced to wait more than a year to be seen by a specialist — all because they live in southwest Sydney.

Part One: south west patients funded $800 less per person than Sydney residents

Part Two: south west patients forced to travel hours for treatment

Part Three: leaders are calling for a new hospital at Aerotropolis

Part Four: 24,000 new medical students needed to fight west’s growth

Part Five: Patients waiting 300 days for surgery in south west Sydney

Part Six: south west teens shock youth suicide numbers as specialist staff numbers revealed

Part Seven: Claims health department removed beds from state’s busiest EDs

Part Eight: Where mini-metro hospitals will be built across Sydney

A unit representative said between 30 to 40 per cent of all children with congenital anomalies are born in southwest Sydney, and “rely on travelling out of area for care”.

We have the volume and complexity of patients which should be managed locally,” the representative said. “There is a need for acute paediatric surgery and many other paediatric subspecialties locally.”

Pictured outside Campbelltown Hospital is Macarthur federal Labor MP Dr Mike Freelander who has hit out over a lack of funding for health services in South West Sydney, telling a NSW Parliamentary inquiry the local health district was in dire need of funding. Picture: Richard Dobson

The submission by the department to the parliamentary inquiry into health provisions across southwest Sydney said there was “no clear allocation of funding or Clinical Governance to ensure Sydney Children’s Hospital Network is actually providing their subspecialist staff to support Campbelltown”.

Macarthur federal Labor MP and paediatrician, Dr Mike Freelander said investigations suggested southwest Sydney patients experience double the wait times of patients attending Randwick or Westmead Children’s Hospitals.

“Access to sub-specialist such as neurology, gastroenterology, cardiology and allergy specialists are also very hard to get,” Dr Freelander said.

“There is a lack of commitment from NSW Health and the major teaching hospitals to provide paediatric care to all of the state.”

He said patients needed access to “high-level services close to home” as well as improved outreach services.

Rob and Samantha Skrzypek with their son Braxton, 7, who has a sleep disorder that results in him falling asleep anywhere. They have been waiting 18 months for a diagnosis. Picture:Justin Lloyd

Eschol Park parents, Rob and Samantha Skrzypek, said their seven-year-old son has been waiting to be diagnosed from a life-threatening sleep disorder for more than 18 months.

“Braxton has a serious issue where he falls asleep constantly,” Ms Skrzypek told The Daily Telegraph. “We almost lost him when he fell asleep while he was in the bath, when we found him there was just enough space around his mouth for him to breath.”

The concerned mother said her son lives with a range of health issues, however, he has been left to wait for a sleep disorder assessment for 18 months — which would diagnose his condition and allow treatment options.

“We are constantly vigilant, constantly on alert and constantly waiting for a call from the hospital,” she said.

A NSW Health spokeswoman said Campbelltown Hospital would experience an enhancement in paediatric services as part of the $632 million redevelopment plan.

“The redevelopment will allow for an additional 4,000 children to be treated locally, including those with complex and severe medical and surgical conditions,” she said. “The NSW Government continues to invest significant capital funding to the development and redevelopment of hospitals in south western Sydney, with $2.9 billion of Health projects currently underway or in planning.”