Call for more staff to ease emergency department strain

Duncan Murray | June 29, 2023

New urgent care clinics and virtual consultation services will be rolled out across NSW to help ease pressure on over-crowded emergency departments.

A mainstay health union says tackling the issue requires having more qualified boots on the ground.

On Thursday the government revealed it either fully or partially supports 10 of 12 recommendations made by a parliamentary inquiry into emergency departments being forced to make patients wait in ambulances – a practice known as ramping.

Health Minister Ryan Park said the government had inherited a troubled system and would introduce measures to ease the strain.

“We know patients can suffer when our emergency departments are overcrowded and there are delays in the transfer of care from our paramedics to our hospital clinicians,” he said.

The government has already committed $175 million to recruit an additional 1200 nurses by 2027.

It will also rollout 25 Urgent Care Services across the state and direct patients to virtual care services to help reduce numbers arriving at emergency departments.

Health Services Union NSW Secretary Gerard Hayes said with around 12,000 health worker vacancies, attracting more people through better wages and conditions was the best option.

“The best and fastest way to improve the hospital performance in NSW is by resolving the attraction and retention crisis,” Mr Hayes said.

He also called for action by the government to stop paramedics leaving to join other state health workforces.

“The skills and education of paramedics must be properly reflected in their pay if we are to stem their exodus to Queensland and the ACT,” he said.

Among the 10 recommendations supported by the NSW government are the abolition of the public sector wages cap, which Labor committed to prior to being elected.

A recommendation by the inquiry to reduce patient occupancy to 85 per cent was noted, with NSW Health in talks with the Commonwealth over joint “activity based” funding models that may be affected.

The government did not support allowing extended and intensive care paramedics to retain their qualifications if they transfer to a region.

According to the government, not all such locations have sufficient workload or activity to ensure paramedics can maintain specialist accreditation.