Latest news with #HayleyLeatham
News.com.au
23-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
‘Apology' to 70yo who slept on western Sydney hospital floor amid calls for review
A 70-year-old man pictured sleeping on the floor of a western Sydney hospital has been issued an 'apology' amid calls for an urgent review into the beleaguered hospital. The photos, posted to Facebook by the man's daughter Hayley Leatham, show Raymond lying down behind a row of chairs at Blacktown Hospital with a bag under his head. Ms Leatham said the photos showed the 'sad reality of our public health system', and her father had waited more than 24 hours with life-threatening low haemoglobin. The Western Sydney Local Health District, which oversees Blacktown Hospital, said in a statement on Wednesday it had reached out to Raymond to 'sincerely apologise'. 'Raymond has expressed his thanks for the quality of care he received from the hardworking staff at Blacktown Hospital,' a spokesperson said. 'All patients are seen and triaged on arrival at the ED with the most seriously unwell patients treated first.' The spokesperson acknowledged that it 'can be challenging for people' when they were made to 'wait longer than they expect in an ED'. 'We thank the community for their patience during periods of high demand,' they said. The spokesperson urged anyone with non life-threatening injuries to call Healthdirect, as hospital visitations surged over the winter months. NSW Nurses and Midwives Association Blacktown Hospital branch vice-president Jess Kybert said the situation at the hospital was the worst she had ever seen. Speaking as a member of the union, she said staff were burnt out amid an unprecedented surge in cases over winter, an always busy period for hospitals. She said that while not allowed to let patients sleep on the floor, 'the horrific thing is the floor becomes the next best option' due to a lack of beds. The incident also sparked political mudslinging between the Labor state government and the Liberal-Nationals opposition in NSW. Premier Chris Minns lay significant blame at the feet of the former Coalition government, though admitted more needed to be done. Opposition health spokeswoman Kellie Sloane on Wednesday called for an 'urgent review' into the situation at Blacktown and Westmead hospitals. 'Western Sydney is under enormous pressure,' the Vaucluse MP told 2GB's Ben Fordham. 'They have unique needs across our state, high areas of chronic illness, diabetes is the highest in the nation. 'In those areas, we've got big migrant populations, and Covid exacerbated this. 'So, I'm not saying there are easy answers, but we need to make a start. 'We need to have a review that begins at Blacktown Hospital.' Fordham released images of a woman identified as Anna Maria, who told the 2GB host that she had slept in her car while waiting for emergency department staff in Blacktown. 'Anna Maria says, a week ago, I was taken to Blacktown Hospital with a bowel obstruction,' Fordham said. 'I waited 24 hours in the waiting room because there were no beds. 'I was so tired that my husband parked the car out the front of the ED so I could lay down and have a rest while the staff are doing their best to manage a chaotic situation.'
News.com.au
22-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
NSW Premier Chris Minns decries ‘enormous challenge' at Sydney hospital after 70yo sleeps on floor
NSW Premier Chris Minns has admitted the state's healthcare system 'needs to do better' after a 70-year-old man was photographed lying on the floor of a western Sydney hospital. The photo, posted to Facebook by the man's daughter Hayley Leatham, shows 70-year-old Raymond lying down behind a row of chairs at Blacktown Hospital with a bag under his head. 'This is the sad reality of our public health system and emergency waiting times and lack of beds,' Ms Leatham said. 'My dad is (a) 70-year-old man on the floor waiting for blood transfusions with extremely life-threatening low level haemoglobin levels. 'I have the most respect for our nurses and doctors, but this is truly heartbreaking to see.' Ms Leatham told 2GB's Ben Fordham on Tuesday morning that her father had been forced to wait more than 24 hours at the busy western Sydney hospital after experiencing severe diarrhoea. 'There were red flags because the 70-year-old has a history of diabetes and hypertension,' Fordham said. 'Despite his condition, Raymond went without a hospital bed for a period of 24 hours. 'He was in so much pain he had to lay on the emergency department floor.' Speaking later to Fordham, Mr Minns admitted the images were 'obviously distressing', noting stress to the family, but lay much of the blame at the former Coalition government. He accused the former Liberal-Nationals state government of underinvesting in western Sydney hospitals. 'When you go to an emergency department to get the best kind of health care possible, you don't want to be in a situation where you have to wait that amount of time,' Mr Minns said. 'The situation today is not where we need it to be, and we need to do better with the massive investment that we're putting into health.' Mr Minns admitted the state government did not 'deserve a gold star'. 'I recognise that we've got an enormous challenge in front of us, and I'm certainly not looking for a lap of honour,' he said. 'But, what I am saying to you is, it would be ruinous for the public health system in NSW to go back to the old model of privatisation, a wages cap, and an underinvestment in western Sydney.' Mr Minns said the number of patients being treated during clinically recommended times at Blacktown Hospital had increased from 30 to 40 per cent under the Labor state government. He also spruiked promises to install 60 new beds at Blacktown and Mt Druitt hospitals as well as funding for the much-delayed Rouse Hill and renovated Bankstown hospitals. Those pledges did little to temper criticism from opposition health spokeswoman Kellie Sloane, who told Fordham it was 'pretty shocking' to see the images out of Blacktown. 'This should not be happening in our hospitals,' she said. 'Patients at Blacktown sleeping on the floor because there simply aren't enough beds. 'I'm terribly sad for this gentleman and his family, decent people paying tax their entire lives, and when they're at the most vulnerable and sick, our system has let them down.' The Vaucluse MP said the situation was not a reflection on the staff and doctors at Blacktown Hospital, who she claimed had been 'ringing alarm bells' about long hospital delays. 'We need solutions at Blacktown,' she said. 'It is one of the poorest performing hospitals in the west of Sydney. 'It ranks 20th out of the 20 hospitals of its category in terms of dealing with people coming into the emergency department. 'We have to do something.'
