The latest Bureau of Health Information report has been released and it shows a fairly stable result for the Hunter New England Health District (HNED).
Between July and September was a challenging period for the entire district with winter illnesses and ongoing furloughing of staff putting pressure on the network.
There were more than 109,300 attendances to Emergency Departments in that time and the new figures show more than half of those didn’t need life-saving or critical care.
HNED Chief Executive Michael DiRienzo thanked his staff who aim to see everyone as quickly as possible in the ED, but sometimes the wait is longer for others.
“Despite the high demand and the challenges of furloughed staff, the majority of patients (65.5 per cent) in the reporting period started their treatment on time, which is in line with the state average.”
The District also performed above the state on transfer-of-care, with almost eight in 10 patients (78.3 per cent) transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, compared with the NSW average of 74.8 per cent.
A total of 6,497 elective surgeries were performed across the region, with almost all urgent elective surgeries (99.6 per cent) performed on time.
Between mid-2012 and mid-2022, Hunter New England Local Health District increased its workforce by an additional 1,956 full time equivalent staff – an increase of 18.6 per cent, including 482 more doctors, 1,042 more nurses and midwives, and 187 more allied health staff.
The 2022-23 budget for Hunter New England Local Health District is over $2.66 billion, an increase of more than $103 million, or 4.0% more, on the previous year’s budget.
HNEH is also reminding everyone to support them where they can by saving emergency departments and ambulances for saving lives. If an illness or injury is not serious or life-threatening, they encourage people to call Healthdirect Australia on 1800 022 222, for a 24-hour telephone health advice.