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Gosford Hospital overloaded, system is in crisis |
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3 September 2008: “Public hospitals are overloaded and under funded, and recent reports that Gosford Hospital is running at an unsafe bed occupancy rate of 105 per cent is another example of how the public hospital system is in crisis,” said AMA (NSW) President Dr Brian Morton.
“The Northern Sydney and Central Coast only received an increase of 3.1 per cent in the state budget, which barely covers the cost of staff and inflation,” Dr Morton said.
“Doctors at Gosford Hospital are concerned about fatigue and the levels of stress hospital staff are under. If the hospital continues to function with a shortage of beds and staff, vital staff may pursue jobs elsewhere.
“While the state government yesterday said that ‘public hospitals are performing better than ever’, data released from the annual report card revealed that Gosford hospital, along with Campbelltown and Canterbury are among the worst performers in the state.
“In Australia, an occupancy rate of more than 85 per cent is classified as a ‘danger’ zone; a hospital running at an occupancy rate of 105 per cent can only result in compromising patient care.
“AMA (NSW) has repeatedly called for more funding and more staff in public hospitals. A recent survey undertaken for AMA (NSW) found that more than half of the 1500 doctors and nurses surveyed have seriously considered leaving the NSW public hospital system in the past 12 months.” Dr Morton said.
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