With ambulances last week forced to park at 7-Eleven instead of outside the hospital and Wollongong health workers saying they have "never hated it more" it is clear the Illawarra's health system is under pressure.
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A new report commissioned by the Health Services Union highlights these type of issues across NSW, with the union calling for a royal commission into health and hospitals funding under the next state government.
The research, by Impact Economics and Policy, looks into how $33 billion in health funding is allocated, and includes evidence that 10 per cent of people urgently needing an ambulance waited for more than two hours between July and September last year.
The reports also highlights a 25 per cent increase in preventable admissions to hospitals between 2012-13 and 2017-18 and says this is costing the hospital system over $1.1 billion a year.
It also says the cost of locum doctors or visiting medical officers reached $1 billion in 2022, and says the health system incentivises high cost but sometimes unnecessary medical services.
"The current system does not incentivise outcomes, rather it incentivises the provision of more health services.
"This is undermining the delivery of quality, evidence based and cost effective health care, and means simplistic solutions such as increasing rebates, more GPs and more nurses is not the solution."
Health Services Union NSW Secretary Gerard Hayes said the report showed the health system was "out of whack".
He noted there had been more than twenty major reports into sections of the health system over 40 years without substantial action, making the case for a Royal Commission.
"Ambulance ramping and emergency wait times are obviously deeply concerning," he said.
"These are symptoms of a deeper malaise that needs to be addressed."
"Highly paid providers are often incentivised to provide expensive procedures that boost their earnings but don't relieve pressure for the wider community. At the same time investment in preventative health is woeful."
"We can identify billions of dollars worth of spending that needs to be properly scrutinised and probably redirected to have more impact."
In a statement, NSW Health acknowledged COVID-19 had had "a significant impact" on the health system, but said NSW was "recognised as one of the best in the world, providing safe, high-quality care".
"Recent reports from the AIHW and the Report on Government Services showed NSW emergency departments continue to outperform those in all other states and territories, with the most patients seen on time and the lowest wait times," a spokesperson said.
"Almost eight in 10 ED patients in NSW (77 per cent) were seen on time in 2021-22,the highest of all states and territories, and well above the national result, at 67 per cent.
"No other state or territory achieved a result higher than 70 per cent."
The department said the $33 billion health spend included $899 million for the ongoing COVID-19 response and would also fund the largest workforce boost in the nation's history, with a $4.5 billion investment over four years for 10,148 full-time equivalent staff to hospitals and health services.
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.
