Labor pledges hospital nurse ‘walk-in’ stations to ease crowding
Patients with non-urgent ailments would be treated at a “nurse walk-in station” under a Labor plan to tackle the State’s emergency hospital waiting list crisis. INTERACTIVE: HOW YOUR HOSPITAL RATES
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Patients with non-urgent ailments would be treated at a “nurse walk-in station” under a Labor plan to tackle the State’s emergency hospital waiting list crisis.
Six nurse-led stations would be established in Glenmore Park, Kiama, Gosford, Burwood, Waverley and Camden where patients would receive free treatment for common illnesses, casts, ear aches, gastroenteritis, cuts, sprains and abrasions.
Labor health spokesman Walt Secord said the plan was designed to take the pressure of overstretched hospital waiting lists, especially in the western Sydney hospitals of Liverpool, Westmead and Nepean.
MORE NSW ELECTION NEWS
WHAT BEING MARRIED TO MICHAEL DALEY IS REALLY LIKE
The latest figures show a record 750,000 patients are turning up to NSW emergency departments with ambulance services struggling to respond with 306,739 call-outs.
Many of the patients in triage four and five categories could have been seen by a nurse or GP rather than clogging the State’s emergency departments, Mr Secord said.
Mr Secord said the centres would be modelled on a similar system operating in the ACT and the United Kingdom.
“Nurse-led walk-in centres are proven,” he said.
“Emergency departments should be used for genuine emergencies”
The centres would rely on highly skilled nurses with advanced qualifications such as Nurse Practitioners, with services free to patients who turn up with a Medicare card.
Labor would employ up to 10 nurses as well as administrative staff in the centres, with nurses seeing the patients in special treatment rooms.
The centre would operate from 7.30am to 10pm seven days a week, with treatment offered to patients aged two years or older.
Under the ACT model, patients are seen on a first come first served basis with no appointments necessary.
Patients deemed to require more specialised care are directed to the emergency department or advised to see their GP.
The three ACT centres average around 36,000 patients each year, with more than 70 per cent treated on site, 13 per cent directed to a GP and six per cent referred to emergency.
Labor leader Michael Daley said $25 million would be spent on setting up the station should the party be elected.
NSW Labor Leader Michael Daley said that the NSW health and hospital system was under enormous pressure and the Berejiklian Government had the wrong priorities.
“The Liberals and Nationals are splurging more than $2.2 billion on stadiums, but Labor will invest in schools and hospitals and through new approaches such as Nurse-led Walk-in Health Centres,” he said.
The Sunday Telegraph reported last month how waiting times had blown at some of Sydney’s busiest hospitals, with Westmead and Nepean failing to meet the critical 10 minute benchmark for life-threatening conditions in their emergency departments.
Originally published as Labor pledges hospital nurse ‘walk-in’ stations to ease crowding
Join the conversation
Splashdown! Day of disaster for Aussies in women’s America’s Cup
The women’s America’s Cup dream of an Australian crew is over after just two days of racing, a disastrous touchdown, a broken start penalty and erratic conditions. How it played out.
Read more
Council awarded more than $600k in compo battle over park, golf club
A Sydney council has secured a legal win against the NSW Government after disputing the amount of compensation it would receive for land forcibly acquired for a major tunnel project.
Read more