A woman who spent 58 hours in the emergency department of Shellharbour Hospital before a bed was found in Wollongong is worried her experience highlights a broken healthcare system.
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The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, attended the emergency department on the night of Sunday, July 24 for a problem with her pancreas.
But it wasn't until the morning of Wednesday, July 27 that a bed became available for her at Wollongong Hospital.
"I can't fault any of the staff or the care I've received, but I think what needs to be raised is, what's being done to make it a better system?" she said.
The woman previously worked for NSW Health and has a chronic condition, so she is not unfamiliar with hospitals.
But she had never seen the situation as dire as it was last week.
"I have never seen a system so broken," she said.
The woman said she was concerned about resourcing in the healthcare system and the pressure healthcare workers are under.
"The fact these people are coming to work under these conditions is horrible," she said.
Not only were they run off their feet, she said, but they also had to face criticism and abuse from frustrated patients.
Margaret Martin, the executive director of clinical operations for the lllawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, said Wollongong and Shellharbour hospitals were seeing more people presenting to the ED and getting admitted, with COVID-19 and influenza piling on pressure.
"The District also currently has 124 hospital beds occupied by patients who are waiting for a residential aged care placement to become available in the community - that's the equivalent of five wards," Ms Martin said.
Ms Martin said the LHD had increased bed capacity to manage periods of high demand and had teams "focused on timely access and the safe flow of patients through our hospitals".
The LHD had also increased support for alternatives to hospital admission when it was safe to do so, she said, such as the Hospital in the Home program.
The patient also raised concerns about how the NSW government planned to staff and resource the new Shellharbour Hospital once it was built.
A spokesperson for Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the government was "investing a record $33 billion in health" as part of the 2022-23 budget.
"A record 10, 148 full-time equivalent staff will also be recruited to hospitals and health services across NSW over four years, as part of the NSW Government's 2022-23 Budget," they said.
But Mr Hazzard's office did not answer questions about how the government would specifically resource the new Shellharbour Hospital.
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