While wait times at both Gosford and Wyong Hospitals have improved in the past 12 months, some benchmarks remain among the worst in NSW.
The latest Bureau of Health Information Health Care Quarterly report revealed 55 per cent of patients presenting to Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD) hospitals started their ED treatment on time compared to 68.3 per cent across the state.
While the figure was an improvement on the same quarter the previous year (October to December 2022), CCLHD had the second longest wait time in NSW behind Western Sydney with just 47 per cent of patients treated on time.
Murrumbidgee Local Health District was the best in the state with 85 per cent of patients being treated on time.
The report showed 57.2 per cent of patients presenting at Gosford started their treatment on time, up from 52 per cent in the same quarter the previous year, while 53.8 per cent of patients presenting at Wyong waited for timely treatment, up from 50.2 per cent the previous year.
Across the Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD), patients leaving ED within four hours improved from 43.3 per cent in the final quarter of 2022 to 47.5 per cent in the same quarter in 2023.
Patients transferred from paramedics to ED staff within 30 minutes improved markedly for Wyong Hospital with the report stating the figure was up from 57.6 per cent to 75.2 per cent, an increase of 17.6 per cent.
Patients transferred within 30 minutes at Gosford Hospital was also up by 5.4 per cent.
The overall CCLHD figures increased by 11 per cent with 77.6 per cent of patients being transferred within 30 minutes.
Attendances increased by 2.3 per cent across the CCLHD with 20,251 patients attending Gosford Hospital (up by 1.4 per cent) and 19,328 patients (up by 3.3 per cent) attending Wyong Hospital.
Health Minister Ryan Park said while most NSW hospitals had seen modest but promising progress in ED wait times, there was room for improvement.
“Everyone should be able to access quality health care when they need it, where they need it,” Park said.
“Patients shouldn’t have to wait hours longer than necessary in our hospitals or emergency departments.
“Having people and their loved ones waiting around in our hospitals for lengthy periods of time is not good for them, our staff, or other patients.
“I want to make it very clear – we are far from mission accomplished.
“While this is a promising improvement, too many people are still waiting too long in our EDs.
“We are throwing everything in our rucksack at improving access and reducing wait times in our hospitals.
“This includes boosting staff and infrastructure; but also rolling out urgent care and providing those alternate pathways to care, to treat people outside the hospital; and establishing an ED taskforce to drive improvements in wait times and access to care.
“When we reduce the proportion of people who can be treated outside of hospitals entering our EDs, our patients as a whole benefit.”
We are currently waiting to be seen in Gosford ED waiting room. We’ve been waiting for over six hours so far for my daughter to be seen, even though after ringing Health Direct we were told to goto hospital immediately. Online information regarding the medication my daughter is taking also says to seek medical attention immediately when having such symptoms, yet we’ve been waiting six and a half hours so far!!
The problem is that new surgeons can not get in, it’s a ghetto that the heads of that hospital have created, juniors operate and 1 senior reviewing 4 or 5 operations at the same time!!! great money for just one surgeon isn’t it??? I know surgeons that apply for job but nobody is successful..unbelievable!! has to be investigated and the goverment to do something!!!