Parker campaigns for Balmain Hospital emergency room upgrade

Member for Balmain, Jamie Parker is campaigning to have after-hours emergency services reinstalled at Balmain Hospital.

Around the clock emergency care was cut from the hospital in 2009 and now only operates between 8am and 10pm.

Mr Parker said residents feel nervous knowing they would need to get to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA) in a late night emergency.

“In a survey conducted by council to obtain feedback from local residents, 88 per cent of respondents supported the reintroduction of the service (at Balmain Hospital),” he said.

Local resident Cath Hacking is part of this 88 per cent.

“Our area has a large population of children, and young families now…  Young children can get very sick very suddenly.”

“They say the RPA is right on your doorstep, and yes it is, but it’s already such a busy hospital.”

Mr Parker said residents could face a four-hour wait at the RPA because it caters to such a large population

Each day 180 people are treated in the emergency department at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and over 65000 annually.

Director of the RPA emergency department, Tim Green, said the number of patients did not grow noticeably after the 24-hour service was cut from Balmain Hospital.

Dr Green said there was a “gap in expectation” between reality and what residents expect.

“They never had an experienced GP… It (Balmain Hospital) was never supposed to be a place to go to in an emergency,” he said.

“There was never more than an unsupervised junior doctor at Balmain after hours.”

Dr Green said Balmain residents should not be concerned about the lack of medical care.

“If it was a small country town, and they were losing their only doctor, then that’s one thing. But if you’re worried enough to get out of bed at 3am, it only makes sense to go to the hospital where all the facilities are available.”

The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital is less then 5km from Balmain Hospital, but Mr Parker said it’s not that simple.

“This 24-hour service is particularly vital for low income earners who depend on treatment from the casualty ward because they experience difficulty traveling to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for treatment.”

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics one in five people across the state have made an afterhours visit to a hospital’s emergency department.

By Timothy Clarke