Dubbo Hospital falls short of emergency department benchmarks

The AMA's 'Clear the Logjam' campaign released score cards and 'traffic light' ratings for all public hospitals across Australia.

Among the major issues experienced in Dubbo include a number of 'red light' ratings for emergency department response times, with the AMA saying shortfalls in funding is the major reason behind the problems.

"A lack of government funding is resulting in public hospitals that are in logjam - with ambulances ramping, emergency departments at capacity, and long waits for essential surgery," the report said.

"There are just not enough beds or staff to deal with the demand.

"This isn't just a COVID-19 problem. And it isn't new. The performance of our public hospitals has been declining for several years and after years of continued neglect, they are now at breaking point."

READ ALSO:

Compared to hospitals across the Central West, Dubbo managed just two green lights for its emergency department - for resuscitation and non-urgent response.

Bathurst and Orange received just one green light for their emergency department.

Worryingly for Dubbo Hospital, it's emergency department received three red lights.

The red lights were given for emergency, urgent, and semi-urgent response time.

The traffic lights relate to the percentage of patients who commenced treatment within the recommended time for each urgency category.

Dubbo's emergency response time - which requires treatment within 10 minutes - resulted in 79 per cent of patients receiving care, leading to the 'red light'.

The urgent response time - where patients need treatment within 30 minutes - resulted in another 'red light', with patients receiving care 76 per cent of the time.

When it came to semi-urgent - which needs treatment within one hour - Dubbo received another 'red light', with a response time of 82 per cent.

Elective surgery was also an issue for Dubbo, with semi-urgent (90 days) and non-urgent (365 days) receiving red lights with scores of 75 per cent and 51 per cent respectively.

Urgent surgery - which requires an immediate response - received a green light.

The AMA said the results speak of the dire situation within NSW hospitals.

"Our hospitals no longer have capacity to surge and meet increased demand - which means exhausted hospital staff must work harder and patients have their care delayed, sometimes for many months," the campaign said.

"But their care can't wait any longer. Urgent action is needed now.

"Our health system needs to be funded for the future, to fix the current logjams, and keep Australians healthy and out of hospitals."

A Western NSW Local Health District spokesperson said patients in all hospitals across the district continue to receive high-quality and safe care amid sustained high demand for emergency department services.

"Our skilled and dedicated staff across the district work hard to provide the best care to the community and we are grateful for their exceptional efforts," they said.

The spokesperson said patients are seen in order of priority.

"As is always the case with emergency department presentations, patients are seen in order of clinical priority and not time of arrival. The most seriously unwell patients are treated first," they said.

"During busy periods those with less urgent conditions will wait longer as seriously unwell patients are prioritised. We thank the community for their patience, and apologise to those that have waited longer than usual in the ED."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: