NSW Health has thanked its frontline hospital staff for theirextraordinary efforts over the peak winter period, with data showing they caredfor a record number of patients.
NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce said the Bureau of HealthInformation report shows 764,610 patient presentations in the July to Septemberwinter quarter.
"Patient numbers for the winter quarter are unprecedented - up more than47,000 on the same period last year - yet our teams have done us proud," MsPearce said.
"More than 70 per cent of patientspresenting to our emergencydepartments had their treatment start on time and giventhe extraordinary numbers, it's a brillianteffort.
"We've just experienced the longest flu season in a decade - the longestsince the 2009 pandemic and hospital presentations have been unrelenting sinceJanuary."
Ms Pearce saidan AIHW report also released today showed that in 2018-2019, NSW leads the countryas the best performer in many aspects of elective surgery and emergencydepartment care.
"Onceagain, NSW elective surgery performanceleads the country, with 96.6 per cent of all elective surgeriesperformed within the clinically recommended time frames."
"Despitealmost three million patients presenting to an ED in NSW, the AIHW report showsNSW patients are seen faster than thosein any other state or territory."
The Bureau ofHealth Information report showed NSW Ambulance had a very busy quarter, withclose to 320,177 ambulance responses, up by 7.6 per cent or an additional22,543 responses on the same quarter in 2018.
In 2019-20, the NSW Government is investing a record $26.7 billion inhealth, with
$20.1 billion going towards improving service in hospitals and $19.7million on improving mental health services, under a record $90 millioncommitment.
More than $1billion is being invested in NSW Ambulance services in 2019-20, including $27.1million to employ an additional 221 paramedics and call centre staff under theNSW Government's record commitment to employ an additional 750 paramedics andcall centre staff over four years.
Another $2.8 billion is being invested to recruit 8,300 extra frontline staff,including 5000 nurses and midwives, over four years, with 45 per cent forregional NSW.
