Concerns have been raised about overcrowding in Australian hospitals after a photo emerged of a woman laying on the ground of an emergency room.
The image, taken last month, shows a woman at Blacktown Hospitals new Emergency Department waiting room in Western Sydney, with a blanket, pillow and her belongings scattered across the floor in a makeshift bed.
The patient arrived via ambulance at night and her family members asked staff for bedding items so she could rest.
At the same time, others were also seen resting on the ground with all seats taken in the cramped waiting room.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns on Wednesday responded to the concerns the states hospital system is overrun.
Well have to look at Blacktown in particular - theres major stress on our public hospitals, he said.
We want to do better when it comes to health outcomes.
Blacktowns Emergency Department has seen a massive increase in attendance recently, with a 10.5 per cent spike in the January to March 2024 quarter compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the NSW Bureau of Health Informations Healthcare Quarterly report.
A woman is pictured in a makeshift bed at Blacktown Hospitals Emergency Department due to the waiting room being overrun with patients
Another patient was forced to crash on the ground due to the long wait time and lack of seating options
This equates to 1598 more people attending the Blacktown ED compared to the same period in 2023, bringing the figure up to 16,776.
And its not only the patients that are feeling the heat, with reports of staff claiming they sometimes have to wait hours to use the same medical equipment, which is often in need of repair.
Shadow Health Minister Kellie Sloane said the hospital in Sydneys west was constantly overpopulated and the state government urgently needed to step in and fix the dire problem.
People in Western Sydney are struggling under Labors two years of health budget cuts, she told Daily Mail Australia.
What is happening at Blacktown Hospital is deeply concerning and is symptomatic of a health system in NSW that is going backwards under Labor. Blacktown Hospital has seen a 10.5 per cent spike in ED attendances this year and unfortunately, were seeing the consequences.
Blacktown Hospitals Emergency Department waiting room is pictured
The new modern Emergency Department at Blacktown Hospital opened to the public on August 7, 2019
In Sydney we should never be faced with a situation where sick or injured people are forced to sleep on the floor.
This week the Premier and his Health Minister were busy fighting nurses when they should have been focused on delivering better health outcomes for the people of NSW.
The ED is part of the hospitals new Acute Services Building and when opened in 2019 was described as a state-of-the-art health facility by the company that built it, AW Edwards.
Western Sydney Local Health District was contacted for comment but did not respond before publication.