BY DAKOTA TAIT
Nurses at Maitland Hospital say new health data has "vindicated" their concerns around conditions at the new site, revealing it's facing the busiest period in the hospital's history.
According to the latest Bureau of Health Information data, presentations at Maitland Hospital increased by 7.1 percent between January and March, compared to the same quarter last year.
Presentations fell by the same amount at the John Hunter, and 8.1 percent at the Mater.
The Nurses and Midwives Association has raised the alarm, the Maitland Hospital's move to Metford has meant the catchment has expanded to encompass patients from Raymond Terrace and Port Stephens.
Maitland Branch Acting Secretary Kathy Chapman says the numbers are "not surprising at all".
"We've been feeling this ever since we got there at Maitland," she said. "The patients have been feeling this."
"Now that [the data's] come out, we do feel vindicated in saying, you know, this has been happening, it's wrong, let's get the Ministry of Health to do something about it."
Arrivals by ambulance also rose by 9.5 percent, while falling by around three percent at the other two hospitals.
Just over 50 percent of Maitland Hospital patients began their treatment on time, down more than ten percent on the same time last year.
There was an almost 15 percent fall in the percent of patients transferred from paramedics to the emergency department in less than half an hour, though the John Hunter saw a five percent improvement, to be the fastest in the state.
Ms Chapman says the State Government needs to start by taking a serious look at the numbers.
"I think they should read it for a start," she said. "I think they should honestly look at it, and go, 'Okay, what have we done here, and do we need to redirect some services to Maitland?'"
"We're in a bad way, so I would say look at the data and do something about it."
