Independent health data released today by the Bureau of Health Information (BHI) reveal the human cost of the Minns Labor Government’s industrial chaos and cuts to the health budget.
Hospitals in NSW are continuing to face unprecedented pressure with record presentations to emergency departments and only 61.3% of patients starting their treatment on time – the worst result on record.
Elective surgery waitlists have also grown to 98,608 – up 7.7% on the same quarter last year.
Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman said Labor’s real cuts to the health budget two years in a row have led to poorer patient outcomes and increasing pressure on hospital staff.
“67,737 patients left an ED without treatment in the September quarter – a whopping 9.8% increase on the same quarter last year.
“Behind every one of those numbers is a patient trying to get better. They don’t want Labor’s buck passing; they want access to quality healthcare when they need it,” Mr Speakman said.
Shadow Health Minister Kellie Sloane said NSW Labor has today tried to shift the blame to Federal Labor, blaming GP shortages for the Minns Government hospital failures.
“Chris Minns and the Health Minister have decided to throw a weak Prime Minister Anthony Albanese under the bus to distract from their failure to adequately invest in our health system and their months of industrial chaos.”
“This is an appalling attempt by the Minister to shift focus and blame, ignoring the most alarming statistics which show potentially life-threatening presentations to EDs are the highest on record,” Ms Sloane said.
Shadow Minister for Regional Health Gurmesh Singh said patients starting Emergency Room treatment on time is the worst since reporting began in 2010.
“In Regional NSW, patients are having to travel further for care while beds remain closed under this government. These statistics show in black and white what our communities are telling us – that Labor is failing to run the Health system,” Mr Singh said.
Key Stats:
- 61.3% of patients started their treatment on time – the lowest of any quarter since BHI started reporting in 2010.
- Fewer than half of triage 2 patients, which are defined as potentially life-threatening presentations, are being treated on time.
- Over 67,000 patients left emergency departments without treatment, a 9.8% increase on the same quarter last year.
- 1 in 10 patients spent longer than 11 hours and 29 minutes in the ED.
- There were 98,608 patients on the elective surgery waiting list at the end of September– a 7.7% increase in a year – yet the number of elective surgeries was down 3.9% from the same quarter last year.
- Ambulance responses were slower – the median response time for emergency (“P1”) was up 0.8 minutes; and the percentages of emergency (“P1”) responses with a call to ambulance arrival within 15 and 30 minutes were down 2.8 and 3.0 percentage points respectively, compared with the same quarter last year