BY IAN CROUCH
Hospitals across the Hunter New England Health District saw record numbers of people attending Emergency Departments in the final quarter of last year.
The latest Bureau of Health Information data shows ED attendances were up by 3.8 per cent between October and December, with 115,900 people presenting for treatment - the highest quarterly figure ever recorded in the Hunter New England Health District.
Almost 23,000 people turned up to the John Hunter ED during the quarter, a rise of 4.5 per cent on the same time in 2019.
Bureau Chief Executive Diane Watson says despite the increase and the challenges of COVID-19, more than 73 per cent of patients started their treatment on time and almost 70 per cent left the ED within 4 hours.
"2020 was really an extraordinary year for both people in NSW and our health care system, and if we look overall, the system coped really well against those enormous challenges," she said.
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| Record numbers of patients attended the John Hunter ED in the December 2020 quarter |
