Maitland residents are being called upon to share their experience visiting the new hospital's emergency department.
The call comes after new data revealed the ED has the highest walk-out rate in the state.
Figures indicate more than 1 in 5 patients who present at the ED seeking help, leave before they are treated.
Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison, said the figures are impacting staff and patients alike.
"The morale of the staff is really impacted by this because the frustration of knowing that people who go to the emergency department seeking assistance are leaving due to the excessive wait times, before they actually get treatment, must be devastating," Ms Aitchison said.
"People who are in urgent medical need for assistance, shouldn't be going to an emergency department and becoming so frustrated by the excessive wait times that they just give up."
"It's concerning for those patients and their families," she added.
In response, Ms Aitchison put out a Facebook post, calling for responders to share their experience in the department, with some citing wait times of more than 6 hours.
Ms Aitchison said it's unacceptable to have a half-a-billion-dollar hospital in the region, without the appropriate staff to provide essential services.
"The government should have been aware of these issues well before now; they've got control of the data, they know what's happening in the emergency department, but have failed to make significant changes," she said.
"I'm calling on members of the public who've been in that situation to come forward. We need their voices to make the case to government for more staffing."
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| Maitland Hospital |
