Illawarra paramedics say they've been left waiting more than four hours to transfer patients into Wollongong Hospital this week, and are warning of an increasingly stretched workforce as the Omicron outbreak ends.
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The Illawarra Shoalhaven sub-branch of the Health Services Union's ambulance division posted to social on Monday, showing a photo of at least six ambulances stuck in bays while their patients awaited beds.
"At least six highly trained, emergency ambulance paramedic crews tied up in bed block," the post read.
"Two have been there for more than three hours.
"And it's not just a day thing, last night Wollongong Hospital suffered from extended bed block too, including at least two ambulances stuck for more than four hours (and another five waiting after that)."
The post noted that the community was "being reassured that escalations are no longer needed as we near 'return to normal'" following the peak of COVID-19 infections.
"Unfortunately, that means back to the normal of stretched resources, bed block delays, and tired and underpaid paramedics," he said.
Other paramedics shared similar stories on the post, saying there had been "12 ambulance vehicles in bed block with 4-plus hour offload times" last week.
"This has been the norm for the past few weeks at Wollongong."
Paramedic and Illawarra Health Services Union delegate Tess Oxley said bed block had long been an issue for paramedics, but that resources had become particularly strained in recent days.
"The pressure of COVID is starting to lessen, but we're still not able to cope with the every day presentations of the Illawarra community," she said.
"As far as the union is aware, none of the jobs delayed over the past couple of days have been COVID related.
"When you have nearly 10 ambulances sitting there delayed, that's 10 ambulances that are unable to respond the other jobs across the Illawarra."
"COVID put a real magnifying glass on the issues the health system is facing, and now is the time to really start digging deep and resourcing health - these are long standing problems."
The union has called on both state and federal governments to step up, saying funding is needed for "thousands of extra paramedics (and other Ambulance staff) that we all deserve".
Northern Illawarra Hospital Group General Manager, Nicole Sheppard said the hospital works with NSW Ambulance colleagues to ensure that all patients are seen as quickly as possible.
"ED presentations can fluctuate due to a variety of reasons and Wollongong Hospital has strategies in place to manage periods of high demand," she said.
"All patients are triaged upon arrival and those who are critically or seriously unwell will be seen first regardless of when they present to the ED."
She said Wollongong Hospital ED experienced higher presentations than usual over the four successive days from last Friday, 25 February, with many patients requiring a high level of care.
"Patients are never turned away from the hospital, however there can be longer wait times when patients needing more complex treatment arrive at the same time, testing even the most robust systems," she said.
According to the latest Bureau of Health Information figures, 81 per cent of of patients who arrived at Wollongong Hospital by ambulance from July to September were transferred into the care of emergency department staff within 30 minutes.
This falls below the NSW target that says 90% of patients that should have their care transferred from ambulance to emergency department staff within 30 minutes.
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
