Chris Dobney
Newly minted health minister Brad Hazzard already has a job on his hands after shadow north coast minister Walt Secord wrote to him yesterday demanding to know why a patient with bowel obstruction had to wait 13 hours at Byron Central Hospital’s emergency department.
Ocean Shores resident Sue Harrison was rushed by ambulance to the hospital at around 10pm on the night of January 22, in the middle of the school holidays, but when she arrived at the ED only one doctor and two nurses were on duty.
Ms Harrison told Echonetdaily that an hour after she arrived, while she was still waiting to be seen, a patient arrived in cardiac arrest, which required the full resources of all three staff to deal with.
And after the 13-hour wait Ms Harrison was still forced to rely on her private health insurance in order to receive proper treatment.
She said the ordeal began when she had to call 000 after being in such pain that she could not walk.
‘The ambos were incredible, fast, helped my pain and got me to Byron Hospital emergency quickly and safely,’ she told Echonetdaily.
Once there I was shocked to see there were only two nurses and one doctor on duty.
‘I think there were at least three other cubicles with patients needing care.
‘One hour after I arrived a full cardiac arrest arrived and the nurses and doctor understandably busy with that emergency, so all other patients were not able to have care,’ she said.
Nurses never stopped
Ms Harrison said there were ‘numerous other patients that needed care coming in’ and yet ‘still there were no other staff’.
She added that it fell to the overworked doctor ‘to be on the phone to find out what hospital I could be transferred to and how.’
Ms Harrison worked in health care in hospitals in the US, where she said a ward secretary is available to perform such tasks.
‘To have a doctor having to be on the phone arranging transport is a total waste of personnel and is actually dangerous to not have a doctor able to respond and be wasting his time on ward secretary work.’
‘The poor nurses were so busy they never stopped and one nurse had to work three hours after her shift ended,’ she said.
Ms Harrison described the situation as ‘unacceptable for a brand new hospital, or any hospital in Australia.’
‘First of all we should have surgical rooms there but maybe more importantly they need more staff.
‘When I told one of the nurses I was going to write a letter she said “please do! We are a first world country and this should not happen.”
‘She said they have asked numerous times for more staff and they are not believed regarding how busy they are.’
Private hospital experience
Ms Harrison said she was ultimately transferred to John Flynn Hospital, which required her to dip into her private health insurance
She told Echonetdaily that the reception she received at the private hospital was ‘like night and day’ after her experience at Byron Central.
‘They were suitably staffed. The nurses were very calm, cool and collected – and they were more able to do their job and give me great care. Everybody was much more able to concentrate on their work – the care of patients.’
She concluded that it had been ‘an eye opening experience for me.’
‘The hospital is beautiful but it will never run smoothly without the essential people that make things happen,’ Ms Harrison said.
New minister on notice
NSW shadow health minister Walt Secord has called for an immediate investigation into staffing levels at the new hospital.
Mr Secord yesterday wrote to newly appointed health minister Brad Hazzard to seek an investigation into the appropriate staffing levels at the facility.
In the letter, Mr Secord wrote, ‘I remind you that the the $88 million Byron Central Hospital was officially opened on May 9, 2016 by the then-Health Minister Jillian Skinner. It is ludicrous that we have a brand new hospital without appropriate staffing.’
Mr Secord said that, at the time, the hospital was promoted by the Nationals, ‘who claimed it would respond to the growing and ageing population on the north coast.’
‘Another day, another problem within the health and hospital system on the north coast,’ he said.
‘This incident is shocking. The patient waited 13 hours and then resorted to private health insurance at John Flynn Hospital in Queensland because there were no surgical suites at Byron Central Hospital.’
‘The patient and the north coast community deserve a full investigation into this incident and they need to be reassured that when they present at hospital, there is enough staff to look after their health needs.’
‘The NSW health and hospital system lurches from crisis to crisis.’
‘Who can forget the shocking photographic evidence of a patient lying on the concrete outside Ballina hospital? That was a national disgrace and the Nationals should hang their heads in shame.’
Echonetdaily approached Northern NSW Local Health District for comment but none had been received at time of writing.
Sorry to hear about your experience. I went to the hospital last weekend with my daughter. There was the admin lady and 1 nurse . My daughter was told it could take up to an hour. After 3 hours she still did not see a doctor. When I asked when she could expect to be seen they said there that there were 10 severe emergencies and there was no way of saying when my daughter could see the doctor.
More ambulances came in and more patients came in and we ended up leaving after complete unclarity when my daughter could receive any help at all.
We were advised to go to Tweed (when we said we were looking for seeing a doctor asap, they said to go to Tweed emergency – while earlier they told us that in Tweed waiting times were much longer than Byron).
We got help from Doctors on call – after hour services – who came to the house.
What surprises me is that there is no proper communication from the hospital staff and people just sit there waiting without any update or any advise on perhaps getting quicker help through after hour doctors.
The hospital is understaffed and I can see from Sue Harrison’s story that a new hospital emergency without proper staff needs urgent review to make it function for the growing community.
How ‘third world ‘ is this?
Disgusting. $88 million for what? a room with a view?
Give us more staff.
Why is it so ? Hospital with no staff. Unacceptable. Parliament with no polititions? Would be acceptable. Priorities all wrong. Mr Baird .
This is not an isolated incident. Ring around all the regional hospitals in NSW and you will find most operate with only one ED nurse on duty- I have worked in many- and no doctor onsite, only on call. This is totally unsurprising to me. There is usually no admin staff for ED in any of these hospitals and on the wards the admin goes home at 1pm or 4pm depending on where you are- all the answering of phones and other clerical work falls to the doctors. The doctor is usually the one who will need to speak to the doctor where you are being transferred so that is probably why he was on the phone.
Still more ED departments around Australia operate with no doctor on call, at all.
If nurses are busy looking after mulitple very unwell people i.e cardiac arrests, it is unlikely they have time to come an update the waiting room as to how much longer it will be. They generally cannot tell you how long he wait is, as they have no way of knowing- how long is a piece of string? What if another ambulance arrives just as you are being seen by the doctor? If the person in the ambulance is sicker than you, they will be seen before you. That’s the nature of Triage and ED.
* Please note in my last post I said the clerical work falls to the doctors- I meant the NURSES!
Maybe state gov could actually supply the correct number of staff instead of over working and underpaying the current staff !!!!
A few months ago I went to Byron hospital with a leg injury that looked like it might need stitches. It was a Saturday afternoon so I could not go to my local surgery. I as well as many others had to wait more than two hours. The person at the front desk was not helpful and would not indicate the likely waiting time or what was causing the holdup. Later on I was tod that an ambulance had come in and with an injured person and that all the medical staff were involved with this emergency. I never experienced such a long wait at the Mullum hospital which was my local one. It is clear that the hospital desperately needs more staff and the person operating the front desk needs training in how to handle patients with courtesy.
The new hospital does appear understaffed. Especially given the mass influx in the surrounding population during holidays and weekends. On a recent visit Most of the staff appear stressed.
Yet I’m greatful I received excellent care.
Apparently the nurses and doctors in the Emergency department do not even have an allocated room to have their tea breaks in.
It’s obvious that the urgent review needs to happen ASAP
Tea Breaks??? I work for Northern NSW health service.and i don’t recall EVER having a tea break…what are they?
My department currently has 3 staff doing the work of 7 during the day because the hierarchy won’t replace staff who have left or gone on maternity leave.
You will find all the staff working at Lismore….
This is why I have private health insurance, so I can go to John Flynn and leave the free hospital service for those who cannot afford private insurance. I cannot understand why someone in pain with a bowel obstruction who has private health insurance did not go to a private hospital immediately.
But yes obviously the splendid new Byron hospital is understaffed, especially as this is a popular tourist area.
It is good we have a shiny new expensive hospital, but it is clearly understaffed. Need I remind everyone that Mullumbimby ex-hospital had a fully equipped start of the art suite of operating theatres as well as a hugely expensive stainless steel kitchen that produced its own food until food prep got contracted to Casino and micro waved in Mullum. It also had a heliport and an ED !!. It appears our new hospital is actually a downgrade. What a shame.
Are people unaware that previously we had two communities/rapidly expanding areas, serviced by two hospitals , two doctors on call in two busy A&E, with nurses, 3 nurses on ward duty each, admin staff at each, etc. now one set of shiny walls and doors, for both combined areas, one doctor half the nurses etc to cope with increased patient load. Add in managers who have. Acedemic qualifications and little or no management skills or/ and experience way out of their depth trying to address staffing issues. It’s not just numbers of nurses, it is skill mix, experience, qualifications, leadership communication and people skills. All nurses need to canvas new minister ( if you’re too exhausted, take spike leave to compile your documentation)
Sad to see State politics determing the level of hospital care in regional areas. It’s unbelievable to know we have here in our Shire a brand new hospital with no operating theatre and at times ONE doctor present.
God help anyone in a life-threatening situation in our shire. It’s not the poor, overworked staff’s fault…we have fabulous doctors and nurses here. Just not enough of them.
Baird’s shameful selling of public assets has left us a legacy of second rate everything. The NSW Government has failed it’s electorates. Greed and corruption has brought us here. This Go earn rent doesn’t deserve re-electing and Labor won’t be any better. Let’s hope The Greens garner many more seats next election to teach these self-serving silver tails a lesson.
Never have I seen a plan for a new health facility with how recruitment of staff is going to match services the building blueprint apparently offers. It’s a disgrace, so amateur, and life threatening! No one would open a shop without sales assistants- why open a hospital without adequate health professionals?? NSW Government has major infrastructure projects in our area (such as at Lismore upgrade) incomplete but no active recruitment to already vacant positions. They’re professionals out there who’d love to live on the North Coast but hearing from understaffed, burnt out current employees turns them off.
We have been twice in the last year to Casino hospital & there was no doctor. The nurses advised us to go immediately to Lismore as it was serious & they were unable to prescribe medication. A neighbour took their injured child to Casimo hospital & was also sent to Lismore. Local doctors used to staff Casino Hospital but this changed some time back. Casino covers a huge area with a growing population & many dangerous industries. As ambulances have to constantly ferry patients all the way to Lismore this downgrade of Casino Hospital is uncaring, negligent & ridiculous!
OMG
I am so confused over what I should do if we have a medical emergency.
We have private health insurance.
We live in Mullum.
If we have snake bite or heart attack should we go to Byron or John Flynn?
Or does ambulance decide?
Should we wait for ambulance or drive ourselves?
Should we move as we are getting older?
I know the last question is one we can only answer.
I am so appalled by the outcome we have with this new hospital.
Imagine what could have been achieved by putting the 80 million dollars in to the existing Byron and Mullum hospitals and the community health centres around the shire.
Instead we have this shiny monstrosity of a building way out of town.
We have next to no public health services available in the towns any more.
Some services are no longer even available at all – why on earth wouldn’t there be a helipad!
The local hospital staff have all been put through a horrible amalgamation process with many getting the boot after many years in their jobs.
The whole exercise has been one of political bureaucratic nonsense.
Don’t be fooled by anyone saying the new hospital is of benefit to the community.
Our community has been royally shafted by this situation.
The only ones who have benefitted have been the politicians who got some milage out of it and their mates who got the construction contracts, and the health service upper management who used it as a vehicle for their internal power games.
SNAFU