A grandfather who was forced to lie on a hospital floor for more than 24 hours has prompted an admission from NSW Premier Chris Minns.
Raymond Ryan, 70, was so unwell he was taken to Blacktown Hospital in Western Sydney about 4pm on Saturday.
He was given an urgent blood and iron transfusion but was forced to lie in agony on the floor of the hospital while he waited for a bed.
It was not until 9.30am on Monday that he was finally given a place to sleep.
Beside him, a man aged in his 80s was afforded a blanket but also had nowhere to rest.
Ryan’s daughter Hayley Leatham took a photo of the sight, saying she felt “guilty and completely helpless”.
“Heartbreaking and not acceptable,” she said.
Today, Minns admitted the images were confronting and said it was “not good enough”.
“We want to do better,” he said
NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association general secretary Shaye Candish said the system is under “so much strain”.
“Our members are screaming out for support,” she said.
Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said Blacktown Hospital was at the “bottom of the heap” when it came to emergency department presentations and delivery.
“When you have now had three budgets and you’ve got a problem like Blacktown Hospital, you are the problem and not the solution,” he said.
The Minns government, which campaigned on fixing the health system, said it was working to deliver Blacktown an additional 30 beds.
Less than a month ago, treatment wait times saw the Western Sydney Local Health District’s chief executive was forced to step down.
But workers have told 9News that hospitals are still suffering because they need more staff.
An email from Westmead Hospital Department heads alerting the government to serious shortfalls across various departments was leaked exclusively to 9News.
“We are understaffed, unsafe, staff are burning out,” the email read.
Candish said the workforce needs investment but the Minns government is still negotiating with the union, offering them a three per cent pay increase.
