As rates of admission continue to rise, Hunter paramedics are increasingly left waiting at hospital doors with nowhere to go.
New figures from the Bureau of Heath Information’s (BHI) Healthcare in Focus 2025 report confirms regional emergency departments (ED) remain under intense pressure.
Between 2017/18 and 2022/23, ambulance arrivals to the ED increased by 12.8%, according to BHI data, with requiring admission spending a median of seven hours in the ED.
Compared to other states, NSW sports some of the longest wait times in the country, with the national median sitting at six hours and five minutes.
At the same time, hospital bed usage rose by 11.2%, supposedly driven by longer inpatient stays and growing demand.
Across the nation, NSW Ambulance crews work under a tight benchmark to transfer patients to ED staff within 30 minutes.
But, locally, this goal has become less and less achievable.
BHI’s Healthcare Quarterly report (October to December 2024) found Maitland Hospital to have one of the slowest rates of transfer in the state, with just 67.3% of patients delivered on time.
Despite a 7.9% rise in ambulance presentations, Australian Paramedics Association (APA) NSW delegate Tim Hilliar said greater pressure was being placed on response time and frontline resources.
“At Maitland, it’s now a part of the daily rhythm,” he explained.
“The volume of patients keeps climbing, but the system behind us isn’t keeping pace.
“The delays aren’t just frustrating, they’re dangerous.”
APA NSW secretary Brendan McIlveen said more patients were being left in ambulance care inside hospital EDs with unrealistic offload times.
“It’s heartbreaking when you know they need care, but you’re stuck in the emergency bay watching them wait,” he stated.
“And, while we’re held up, someone else in the community is waiting for help that can’t arrive – it’s frustrating, it’s unsafe and it’s becoming normal.
“That’s the most dangerous part.”
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