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Byron Shire
March 28, 2024

Health district blames ambulance service for patient’s 13-hour delay

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The Northern NSW Local Health District has blamed the NSW Ambulance Service for a patient's 13-hour wait at Byron Central Hospital before being transferred to a private hospital on the Gold Coast. Photo Facebook
The Northern NSW Local Health District has blamed the NSW Ambulance Service for a patient’s 13-hour wait at Byron Central Hospital before being transferred to a private hospital on the Gold Coast. Photo Facebook

Chris Dobney

Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSW LHD) has apologised to a woman who was forced to wait 13 hours for treatment at Byron Central Hospital (BCH) on January 22.

But far from admitting that they have a problem, the CEO has instead blamed the NSW Ambulance Service for the bulk of the delay.

Yesterday, Echonetdaily revealed that Ocean Shores resident Sue Harrison, who presented to the hospital with a bowel obstruction at about 10pm, was finally transferred to John Flynn Hospital on the Gold Coast at around 11am the following day.

Even then, she had to use her private health insurance to ensure treatment at the Gold Coast private hospital.

Ms Harrison subsequently spent four days in the hospital.

In a statement, NNSW LHD CEO Wayne Jones said an internal review had found BCH’s staffing levels were ‘appropriate on the night.’

‘Seven patients, including Ms Harrison, attended the Emergency Department that night and all were triaged and treated within clinical guidelines,’ the statement read.

‘Ms Harrison received immediate triage and care by an emergency doctor and it was determined she needed to be transferred to John Flynn Hospital.’

But this flies in the face of what Ms Harrison told Echonetdaily, that within an hour of her arrival a patient arrived in cardiac arrest, which immediately swallowed up all the resources of the hospital: the one doctor and two nurses on duty.

She added that one nurse was forced to work three hours past the end of her shift.

But despite Ms Harrison’s praise for the ambulance paramedics, who she described as ‘incredible, fast, helped my pain and got me to Byron Hospital emergency quickly and safely,’ Mr Jones said much of her inordinate delay was attributable to a wait for an ambulance to transfer her to the Gold Coast.

‘Northern LHD works closely with NSW Ambulance to provide the best possible outcomes to patients who need our care.

‘We will ensure the timelines of inter-hospital transfers is addressed as a priority,’ the statement concluded.

Blame shifting: Secord

NSW Shadow Health Minister Walt Secord meanwhile accused the state government of ‘finger-pointing’ between the Northern NSW Local Health District and the Ambulance Service of NSW over the issue.

Mr Secord said, ‘Patients just want to be reassured that when they rush into emergency departments with a condition like a bowel obstruction that they receive immediate treatment. They do not want to hear excuses or blame shifting.’

‘Put simply, it is absolutely unacceptable to have to wait for 13 hours in an emergency department – and waiting 10 hours for a patient transfer is unforgiveable,’ he said.

Mr Secord renewed his call on newly installed Health Minister Brad Hazzard to publically release any investigation into the incident.

Not an isolated case

But far from it being an isolated case, Echonetdaily has received complaints from at least two other patients of the hospital who have experienced delays in treatment.

One patient said he waited three hours recently with an ear infection ‘but left after the wait time kept getting longer.’

A second patient presented to BCH after his GP sent him there to ask a doctor to examine his swollen elbow.

That patient said he ‘waited two hours then was treated – on and off – over the next hour and a half.’

One of the patients, an Echo drudge, told Echonetdaily he believed ‘the stats can get blurred by treating people immediately with triage. After that they are made to wait for many, many hours.’

‘I was curious to know how a 13-hour wait is within clinical guidelines,’ he said.

In response, NNSW LHD emailed a copy of the Australasian Triage Guidelines.


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1 COMMENT

  1. I have nothing but praise for Byron Central hospital and staff.
    Two of my children have had to attend the hospital and they have been superb. One of these was for a head split open.
    An ear infection should be treated by a GP and not a hospital emergency department! Sound like people trying to get out of paying to see a GP…..and the sounds like the media is trying to make a headline story out of nothing

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