At a month old, Elva Cascio's soft little arms flail about, her dark eyes are starting to focus on her mum and dad and she's still got that newborn reflex that makes her hand grip tight around their fingers.
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Her first-time parents, Georgia and Matthew, watch her every move.
So, when they found blood in her nappy last week, they didn't hesitate to call the medical help service Healthdirect, and when the nurse on the phone told them they should go to emergency, they didn't risk not following her advice.
But after waiting seven hours to see a doctor in a packed emergency room full of sick people with a child too young to be vaccinated, Mr Cascio was left appalled.
"I was pretty hopeful that it was not going to be a life-threatening issue, but it's our first kid and we were told to go there by the a nurse," he said.
"We thought it might be a two to three hour wait when we were making a decision to go there, but to have a three week old sitting there in a place where there are sick people coughing and spluttering and she doesn't have her vaccinations yet, it's just appalling."
"There was a lot of kids there, one of the nurses said there was 30 kids in paediatrics during the night. So we were pretty much in a queue waiting for one kid to come out and the next to go in."
Angry that Wollongong parents have no choice but to subject vulnerable babies to a struggling ED, Mr Cascio wrote to the NSW Premier.
He said the wait has been "simply unacceptable", as "waiting for such an extended period of time with a sick and vulnerable infant is not only emotionally and physically draining but can also be dangerous".
"I can't help but wonder how many others in similar situations have had to wait just as long, or even longer, for essential medical attention," Mr Cascio wrote.
"The healthcare system in NSW should prioritise the well-being and safety of all its citizens, and this experience has left me questioning whether that is truly the case. I believe it is time for immediate action to be taken to address these ongoing issues."
Within three hours - half the time his family waited in the ED - he had an apology from health minister Brad Hazzard's office, but the Figtree dad remains angry and says more needs to be done to fix the health system.
Waiting times in Wollongong's emergency department are among the highest in NSW, with the most recent figures showing that patients waited an average of four hours and 55 minutes between arrival to leaving.
Last week, Bureau of Health Information data showed the hospital recorded its longest median wait time, usurping the record set in the previous quarter, with one in ten patients waited more than 17 hours and 20 minutes.
The median wait for those like Elva who could be treated and discharged was four hours and 21 minutes, with one in ten waiting eight hours and 41 minutes to be discharged.
"The fact that there an be one paediatric doctor on for 30 kids is absolutely pathetic," Mr Cascio said.
"I can't complain about the individual nurses and doctor that we saw - they are working in a system that is failing them. They were run off their feet completely - and if they could have found the time to see us, we could have been in and out, but they were too understaffed to be able to do that."
Mr Cascio said Elva was seen by a triage nurse who checked her vitals during their wait, but that the family was then sent back to the waiting room.
They then waited in the paediatrics section until about 5am, when Elva's medical issue was finally looked and referred to a GP for a follow up.
"I knew it wasn't going to be quick, but I didn't expect it to be as long as it was. I find it crazy that it took almost seven hours for a doctor to see us," he said.
Hospital apologises for lengthy wait
Wollongong Hospital has also apologised to the Cascio family for the distress they experienced during their visit to the emergency department on 28 February.
"The infant was stable and, after being assigned an appropriate triage category, was continually monitored by nursing staff before being seen by a doctor," a spokesperson said.
"However, we acknowledge and apologise for the lengthy wait to see a doctor."
They said the paediatric department was fully staffed during Elva's visit, but that there had been more unwell children than usual presenting to the ED.
"The night in question was extraordinarily busy, with more than 30 paediatric presentations, the majority of
which were seriously unwell children," the spokesperson said.
"The most seriously unwell patients are seen and treated first. Patients and carers are asked to let staff know if their condition deteriorates while they are waiting so that they can be re-triaged if required."
They said the Wollongong Hospital ED had experienced an increase in presentations across all areas, including children and babies.
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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.
