Paramedics transporting COVID-19 patients have been forced to drive elsewhere or wait for hours as Sydney hospitals - Westmead, Blacktown and Liverpool - are under "significant strain" due to bed shortages.
New South Wales paramedics are at breaking point after being turned away by multiple Sydney hospitals while transporting COVID-19 patients.
Greater Sydney is battling a devastating outbreak of the highly contagious Delta strain, with a high of 919 local cases recorded on Wednesday.
Australian Paramedics Association NSW President Chris Kastelan told Sky News Australia workers have been forced to wait for hours while caring for COVID-infected patients.
"We’re finding we’re having up to 10 paramedic crews with COVID positive patients stuck in the emergency department for up to around six hours at a time," he said.
"Paramedics are doing 17, 18 hours shifts in very confined spaces, we’re concerned about [their] safety."
Mr Kastelan said paramedics are "driving around" western Sydney in an attempt to find hospitals for COVID-19 patients while being stuck for "up to five hours in the pouring rain".
"This is plainly not good enough after 18 months' worth of pandemic supposed preparedness, that we’re coming to a point in time where hospitals are closing their doors to COVID positive patients," he said.
The NSW Paramedics Union on Wednesday tweeted that ambulances were forced to find another hospital due to lengthy wait times at Westmead.
"At Concord Hospital last night, ambulances redirected from overflowing Westmead queued for hours," the tweet read.
"With no infrastructure to support COVID delays, paramedics were given a choice-wait in the confined car space with a confirmed COVID-19 patients, or wait outside in the freezing rain."
Blacktown Hospital stopped accepting COVID-19 patients on Wednesday afternoon while Westmead Hospital on Tuesday announced a "code-yellow" emergency as it struggles to grapple the surging Delta outbreak.
The Western Sydney Local Health District’s executive team sent an email to staff on Tuesday indicating the change in settings at Westmead Hospital.
It said the hospital would immediately reduce ambulance arrivals for COVID-19 patients for a 24-hour period, seeking to transfer critical patients to other Sydney metropolitan hospitals.
Almost 80 per cent of the NSW's available intensive care beds are full, of which, 17 per cent are coronavirus patients, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
As of Wednesday, there were 645 COVID-19 cases in hospital in NSW, with 113 people in intensive care and 40 of those on ventilators.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard insisted NSW has "probably the best health system in the world" but individual hospitals will be under stress from time to time.
"All the information given to me from the doctors and nurses and our public health staff is that yes the system is coping," he said.
"You’ve got to understand that the individual hospitals from time to time will be under all sorts of stress, particularly if they’re sitting right in the epicentre of the breakout which is western Sydney and south-western Sydney.
"It may move to another area, but we’re hoping that by people getting vaccinated, we’ll actually be able to turn that down."
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2021-08-25 23:10:43Z
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_YW1w
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