State Member for Wallsend, Ms Sonia Hornery MP, has called on the NSW Health Minister to directly address the concerns raised by twelve doctors based at John Hunter Hospital in a damning letter describing a significant deterioration in their ability to provide adequate healthcare due to the standards of Hunter New England Health (HNEH).
Ms Hornery has expressed her concerns that the letter, co-signed by twelve senior doctors ranging from vascular surgeons, anaesthetists and an obstetrician, shines a light on the poor conditions that our local health professionals are having to work in. The letter expresses that staff morale is worsening and that there is a growing culture of fear in HNEH.
Ms Hornery intends to raise this matter in the Parliament next week.
“These doctors have expressed their profound concerns about workload pressures, staff shortages, inadequate equipment and IT support and poor resource allocation” Ms Hornery said.
“The letter is a damning indictment on the way this Government is running our State’s health system. John Hunter Hospital is the largest regional hospital in the state. It needs to be resourced appropriately”
“It is always concerning for me to hear that staff are not having their complaints adequately addressed by HNEH and that there is a culture of silencing and fear implicit in the workplace”
“We are hearing now about a situation where the largest regional hospital in NSW has doctors who are being forced to compromise patient safety because of improper equipment and inadequate resourcing”
“The Government can no longer turn a blind eye to the obvious health crisis in our hospitals”
“I am calling on the Health Minister to urgently address the concerns raised by these doctors and find a solution to the resourcing issue in John Hunter Hospital” said Ms Hornery.