Issue 175 9 October 2019
Your independent community newspaper - Ph: 4325 7369
Koori league carnival a Knockout M
ore than 40,000 spectators saw 164 teams compete in the Koori Knockout over the long weekend - the first major sports event at the new Regional Sports Complex at Tuggerah.
Men’s grand final teams
Photo: (SBS/NITV)
The event was hosted by Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council and chairman, Matthew West, said he was proud to showcase the region to people from other Aboriginal communities all over NSW. See full story, P31
Wyong Hospital waiting times among worst in state T
he latest statistics from the Bureau of Health show that waiting times for surgery and e m e r g e n c y departments at Wyong and Gosford hospitals are among the worst five in the state. The report points to a 12.5 percent increase in presentations to Wyong emergency over the past three months and nurses there claim to be overworked and understaffed. The Nurses and Midwives Association has launched a campaign at Wyong to boost the nurse-to-patient ratio and the four Central Coast Labor MPs are backing the fight for the nurses. Swansea MP, Yasmin
Catley, said in Parliament on Tuesday last week that the health system was broken, and the Central Coast and Hunter region hospitals were underresourced but excessive wait times in emergency departments and on surgery lists was not the worst of it. “The state of outpatient services within the region is even more dire,” she said. “Wait times for some outpatient services are as long as three years. “That is a disgrace,” Catley said. “People are waiting far too long to have vital surgery or to even see a specialist to begin with. “How can the Premier, in good conscience, tell the people of NSW that her government has a strong track record on
health when some of our most vulnerable people are waiting three years to see a specialist?” The NSW Government has labelled these reactions as “scaremongering”. In reply to Catley’s address to Parliament, Energy and Environment Minister, Matt Kean, said he would take her concerns to the Health Minister but “no amount of scaremongering will take away from the fact that this government has invested a record amount in health infrastructure and health services … ensuring hospitals are built, resourced, waiting times are driven down and families looked after by the hospital system”. However, waiting times in emergency departments and waiting
lists for surgery at Wyong and Gosford hospitals has soared according to latest information from the Bureau of Health. The Bureau’s April-June 2019 quarterly report said Central Coast hospitals were high on the list with the highest percentage of patients waiting more than four hours. Gosford was among the worst five in the state with 42.9 percent and Wyong close behind with 35.1 percent. The Central Coast region is falling behind the rest of NSW when it comes to quality health services says Wyong MP and Shadow Minister for the Central Coast, David Harris. “The health and hospital system across the state is under enormous pressure with the waiting list for
surgery blowing out to over 84,000 patients (84,131),” he said. “This latest figure breaks the record set last quarter, when the waiting list exceeded 80,000 patients for the first time. “The record 84,131 patients were waiting for non-urgent procedures like cataract removal, knee and hip replacements and tonsillectomies. “Of those, 10 percent were waiting longer than 359 days for their surgery. “Gosford Hospital exceeded the state average with 10 percent of patients waiting just under a year for surgery (362 days). “In April 2011, there were just 66,000 patients waiting for elective surgery in NSW.” Both Gosford and
Wyong hospitals recorded decreases in the percentage of emergency department patients receiving treatment within recommended timeframes across all triage categories compared to the same period in 2018, the report said. “At Gosford Hospital, 44.6 percent of T3 urgent presentations were not seen in the clinically recommended timeframe. “At Wyong Hospital, 33.5 percent of T2: emergency presentations were not seen in the recommended timeframe.” Harris said hospitals in the state were at “breaking point”.
Office: 3 Amy Close, Wyong Phone: 4325 7369 Mail: PO Box 1056, Gosford 2250 E-mail: editorial@centralcoastnews.net Website: www.centralcoastnews.net
Continued P4