Member for Macquarie Fields Anoulack Chanthivong MP has launched a petition calling on the Liberal Government to act now to fix our hospitals as emergency wait-times increase amid a record flu season and a spike in Covid-19 cases.

“Our health system and workforce has been neglected over the past decade by the Liberal Government,” Mr Chanthivong said.

“Our overworked doctors and nurses are doing their best, but they are being severely let down by this Liberal Government with insufficient resources, flat wages and a staffing crisis.

“Amid a record flu season, and with our hospitals managing a spike in daily Covid cases, our growing communities need more than empty promises.

“Our hospitals are feeling the strain of South-west Sydney’s burgeoning suburbs and the issue is symptomatic of a tired, nearly 12-year-old Liberal Government that has consistently failed to deliver infrastructure and services to keep pace with rapid growth across our region,” Mr Chanthivong said.

Latest Bureau of Health Information (BHI) statistics highlight that 55.7% of patients spent more than four hours in emergency at Campbelltown Hospital in March 2022, an increase of 16.53% (up from 47.8% of patients in 2021).

At Liverpool Hospital, 56.4% of patients spent more than four hours in emergency in March 2022, an increase of 12.35% (up from 50.2% of patients in 2021).

Non-urgent selective wait times have also risen, with BHI figures indicating the wait at Campbelltown Hospital in March 2022 stood at 393 days compared to 207 days in March 2021 – an increase of 89.86%. At Liverpool Hospital, non-urgent selective wait times increased 97.84% (from 185 days in March 2021 to 366 days in March 2022).

Mr Chanthivong said our hospitals were on life support due to the Liberal Government’s inaction.

“Our hospitals are at breaking point with excessive wait times, insufficient beds, chronic staff shortages, a lack of resources and record triple-0 calls to NSW ambulance.

“Doctors and nurses who have been at the frontline of this pandemic are continually overworked and under pressure. The Liberal Government must stop the spin and urgently fix our hospitals because lives depend on it.

“People in my electorate, and across south-west Sydney, deserve a fair go and we deserve our fair share.”