Several Hunter hospitals have recorded their worst quarterly result for the median time that patients spend in the emergency department since modern records began in 2010.
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But the region's emergency departments did show slight improvements in the percentage of patients starting treatment on time, the latest Bureau of Health Information [BHI] data showed.
The data's release coincided with NSW Health Minister Ryan Park announcing a new taskforce to tackle emergency department wait times.
The median time from arrival to departure at emergency departments was: John Hunter Hospital (5 hours and 11 minutes), Maitland Hospital (5 hours and 51 minutes) and Calvary Mater (4 hours and 29 minutes).
Other results in this category were Belmont Hospital (4 hours and 26 minutes) and Cessnock Hospital (2 hours and 26 minutes).
While John Hunter, Maitland and Belmont recorded their worst results in the arrival to departure category, Cessnock and Calvary Mater showed slight improvements.
There were also slight improvements in the percentage of patients starting treatment on time in Hunter emergency departments, but these results were well below the higher standards set in previous years.
The percentages recorded in this category in the July to September quarter were: John Hunter (66.1 per cent), Maitland (54 per cent), Belmont (75 per cent), Cessnock (79 per cent) and Calvary Mater (82 per cent).
Hunter New England Health chief executive Tracey McCosker said "the time to start treatment improved across all triage categories compared with the same time last year".
"All patients are seen and triaged on arrival at the ED [emergency department]. As always, the most seriously unwell patients are treated first," Ms McCosker said.
"During busy times, those with less urgent conditions can experience longer wait times when there are large numbers of seriously unwell patients being prioritised for emergency care."
The data showed that one in 10 patients experienced very long waits in the arrival to departure category: Maitland (18 hours and 41 minutes), John Hunter (12 hours and 52 minutes), Calvary Mater (12 hours and 9 minutes), Belmont (11 hours and 15 minutes) and Cessnock (6 hours and 51 minutes).
Nonetheless, Ms McCosker said the district "maintained a steady performance, despite an increase in triage category 1 (resuscitation) and 2 (emergency) patients" in the quarter.
"Our teams have done an outstanding job providing care to patients who were sicker and needing more complex care than the same time last year," she said.
She added that the district had "a number of strategies in place to further improve performance and patient experience".
This included "attracting and retaining staff at our regional and rural facilities" and increasing positions at "our busier hospitals".
The quarterly data showed 11,106 patients on waiting lists for surgery in Hunter New England, a rise of 3 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.
This figure hit a high of 12,936 in mid-2020, during the pandemic.
Ms McCosker said new strategies were being used "to further reduce the number of patients exceeding the clinically recommended timeframe for their planned surgery, following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic".
In Hunter New England Health's submission last month to the special commission of inquiry into healthcare funding in NSW, Ms McCosker stated "the greatest challenge" the district faced was "attracting and retaining skilled health workers".
As the Newcastle Herald has reported, the submission also said a NSW government "Collaborate Care" program to outsource surgeries to private hospitals to reduce backlogs from the pandemic had caused "workforce issues".
The boost in private sector services led "specialists to prefer private over public employment," Ms McCosker wrote.
"As a result, we are finding it difficult to recommence elective surgery at our full internal capacity now that collaborative care will end on December 31, 2023."
