Five years after a billion-dollar overhaul, Westmead Hospital’s emergency department is now facing the worst wait times and ambulance ramping in all of New South Wales—with one in ten patients stuck for nearly 22 hours, more than double what it was a decade ago despite only a small rise in patient numbers. Treatment delays are rampant: just 41.5% of patients started care on time, far below state averages, and only 60% were transferred from ambulances within 30 minutes. Nurses on the ground describe a system in crisis, overwhelmed by critically ill patients like heart attack victims and those with severe breathing issues, while beds and flow into other departments remain blocked. Despite seeing the highest volume of urgent cases in the state—with a sharp increase since 2016—Westmead is struggling more than other hospitals, which are managing faster treatment. The state is turning to new hospitals and more beds elsewhere to relieve pressure, but the root causes remain complex: an aging population, rising demand for urgent care, and bottlenecks in discharging patients waiting for aged care or NDIS placements.
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