The ongoing ambulance delays and long wait times at Wollongong Hospital emergency department have been raised in NSW Parliament, with Wollongong MP Paul Scully urging the state government to address the issues in next month's budget.
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As more than a dozen ambulances faced long wait times in the bays outside the hospital last Wednesday night, Mr Scully was speaking in parliament about the hospital's woes.
"Recently an increasing number of patients, friends and relatives of patients, and staff in the local health system have contacted me to express concerns about the ongoing capacity of Wollongong Hospital to meet the needs of our community," he said.
"Those concerns generally stem from an experience related to the emergency department and are usually about long waiting times from high levels of demand, no matter the time of day or night."
He said statistics showed Wollongong emergency department had one of the longest waiting times in the state, with around half of patients not leaving the ED within four hours.
Mr Scully said shortcomings in other parts of the Illawarra's extended health network were impacting on the performance of the hospital system, including a loss of around 200 aged care beds in the past two years.
"That creates bottlenecks in the health and hospital system as more people from the aged care sector are treated in hospitals and more people who are admitted to hospital are staying longer as they await a place in a suitable residential aged care facility," he said.
He added a number of local GPs had stopped bulk-billing, and predicted this would lead to even more ED presentations in the coming months.
"Given that so many other costs are increasing, the last thing many households can deal with is an increase in the cost to see a doctor," Mr Scully said.
Mr Scully acknowledged plans to alleviate the pressure on the Illawarra health system were in the works through a number of bipartisan measures, including the new hospital at Shellharbour, a new community health facility at Warrawong, upgrades to Wollongong Hospital and a new ambulance station for Fairy Meadow.
However, apart from Wollongong hospital upgrades, he said there had been "no substantial progress" on these in the past year.
"Now is the time for the Government to set and stick to a time line that will quickly see those facilities built, opened and staffed," he said.
"We know that the Shellharbour Hospital site has been identified, but we are no clearer on the construction time line and when the new hospital will open."
"We know that the Warrawong community health facility and Fairy Meadow ambulance station site selection process are underway, but we are no clearer on the construction time line and when those services will open.
"The Government must acknowledge that there are immediate, increasing pressures on Wollongong Hospital.
"They must be dealt with because, behind the dismal monthly statistics, there are real people who are suffering pain and chronic illness."
In February, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard told parliament work on the new Shellharbour Hospital was on track to start later this year.
When the site was selected in 2021, Mr Hazzard said it was expected the hospital would open in 2027.
According to the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, the 2021-22 budget for the region was almost $1.06 billion, an increase of nearly $32 million, or 3.1 per cent, on the previous year's budget.
The NSW Government will hand down its 2022-23 budget on June 21.
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