Hospitals across the region are experiencing significant increases in emergency department demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emergency department attendances have climbed sharply in the April to June 2021 quarter compared to the same period last year, according to the Bureau of Health Information (BHI) Healthcare Quarterly report.
Hunter New England Health said the increase was not unexpected and had only confirmed the significant pressures associated with preparing for and responding to COVID-19.
“The best way for everyone in NSW to protect their health, the health of their loved ones, and to reduce the pressure on the health system and our fantastic workforce is to get vaccinated,” it said.
“The second quarter of 2021 was one of the busiest NSW Health has ever recorded in ED presentations, elective surgeries performed, ambulance responses and babies born.
“It came as the system recovered from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with just the first week of the current outbreak recorded in this quarter.”
John Hunter Hospital recorded 23,456 emergency department attendances this quarter, which is a 33.7 per cent increase compared to the same quarter last year. Semi-urgent cases were up by 34.9 per cent.
John Hunter also experienced a significant rise in urgent cases, including a 66.7 per cent increase in the number of patients requiring resuscitation.
Chief Executive of Hunter New England Local Health District Michael DiRienzo said the entire district experienced a hectic quarter.
He said there was a 33.4 per cent increase in ED attendances, up by 29,545 patients to 117,950 compared to last year.
“While presentations increased across the board, from non-urgent to most-urgent, we saw the biggest increase in semi-urgent patients,” DiRienzo said.
“This quarter’s results show an increasing demand on our services, and I would like to thank our staff for their work in supporting our communities as we continue to face the challenges of the pandemic.
“Last year, the health system experienced significant disruption. However, we have continued to see high activity across all services in 2021.”
He said elective surgeries had also been a continued focus of the district and increased the number of procedures performed.
Over the April to June 2021 quarter, 8418 elective surgeries were performed, a significant increase of 71.5 per cent.
Since the National Cabinet paused elective surgeries in 2020, the number of patients overdue for surgeries has now been reduced from 1259 patients to just two.
DiRienzo said there had also been a considerable boost in the number of elective surgeries performed on time across the region.
Surgical performance at hospitals including Calvary Mater Newcastle, Cessnock, Singleton, Kurri Kurri and Muswellbrook were all on par with or better than their peer group hospitals.
Information source: Media release, Hunter New England Health Local Health District