Ambulance wait times blow out as rural hospitals work 'beyond capacity'

The latest Bureau of Health Information [BHI] data shows there were 810,201 emergency department (ED) attendances - up 5.2% from the same quarter a year earlier and the highest of any quarter since BHI began reporting in 2010. Of those, 192,874 patients arrived by ambulance - up 7.0% and also the highest ever.

Just over sixty six per cent of all ED patients had their treatment start on time - down slightly from the same quarter last year. Just 55.9% of patients left the ED within the recommended four hours - a record low.

Across major regional hospitals those figures were worse.

Dubbo hospital saw 68.9 per cent of patients receive ED treatment on time down 5.7 per cent from the same time last year while only 44.8 per cent were discharged within four downs, down 14.1 per cent.

At John Hunter hospital the situation was even worse, 51.1% started emergency treatment on time down 7.9 per cent from the previous year and only 35.2 per cent left on time down 2.9 per cent.

While at Wollongong hospital 67.7 per cent of patients started treatment on time down 0.6 per cent while only 41.1 per cent left within the recommended four hours down 0.4 per cent.

Port Macquarie Base Hospital bucked the trend with 69 per cent starting emergency department treatment on time, up 0.4 per cent while 71 per cent were discharged within the recommended 4 hours up 2.8 per cent.

Wait times for ambulances in rural areas also remain of concern.

Only 46 per cent of rural cases were answered within 15 compared, compared to 49 per cent in urban areas, and only 82 per cent were answered within 30 minutes compared to 90 per cent in urban areas.

AMA (NSW) President Dr Kathryn Austin told ACM that regional hospitals were being "stretched beyond capacity".

"Patients in rural settings already face significant disadvantage. If an urgent injection of funds is not placed into the hospital system these patients will suffer even greater disadvantage, and that's not fair," she said.

Dr Austin said the demands in rural, regional and remote settings were already too great".

"They are giving their all and then some. There is nothing left to give - yet these figures indicate they are being asked to give more and will continue to be," she said.

"This is not sustainable. Something's going to give and it's the patients in the bush who are going to suffer."

NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association general secretary Shaye Candish said staff were "dealing with complex clinical care and increased workloads as patient numbers surged".

"These figures show EDs across the state are being pushed well beyond their limits and this is having a severe impact on the staff and patients," Ms Candish said.