With so much development and population growth happening and much more coming to Campbelltown, the Baird Government needs to invest in Campbelltown Hospital to cater for the increased demand, says local MP Greg Warren.
“We’ve heard story after story from patients who have had to wait for an unacceptable length of time because the hospital simply can’t cope with the pressure caused by budget cuts and increased demand,’’ he says.
“The nurses, doctors and other staff at Campbelltown Hospital do the absolute best they can every day, but they’re being let down by a Government that refuses to come to the table with the necessary funding to cater for our growing region.”
Mr Warren, NSW Shadow Health Minister Walt Secord and Macarthur Federal MP Dr Mike Freelander visited Campbelltown Hospital earlier today to highlight the pressure on the hospital and to draw attention to the neglect by the Baird Government.
They released independent Bureau of Health Information quarterly data which shows that 40 per cent of patients at Campbelltown Hospital had to wait longer than four hours in its emergency department.
This was a 5.6 per cent increase over the same period last year.
Campbelltown Hospital had the fifth longest waits in NSW – after Nepean, Royal Prince Alfred, Liverpool and Blacktown hospitals.
The Campbelltown waits were almost double the state wide median – 26.1 per cent of patients waited longer than four hours in emergency departments.
And the median wait at Campbelltown Hospital was 247 days to receive non-urgent surgery.
As of June 30, there were 1,739 patients waiting for elective surgery.
In specific categories, patients have a:
352 day wait for cataract surgery;
247 day wait for tonsillectomy;
200 day wait for a prostatectomy;
247 day wait for ear, nose and throat surgery; and
212 day wait for orthopaedic surgery.
More than 60,000 patients a year visit Campbelltown Hospital – making it one of the busiest in the State.
In the most recent quarter, 16,149 patients presented to the emergency department.
Dr Freelander said there was no use in the NSW Government approving all this development in Campbelltown and then saying that in 10 years they’ll upgrade our infrastructure and services.
“Campbelltown Hospital’s emergency waiting times are already far too high – the time for the Government to act is now, not in a decade’s time.
“The hardworking staff at the hospital shouldn’t have to put up with being chronically under-resourced, and neither should patients.”
Mr Secord said NSW health and hospitals were under enormous pressure.
