Ambulances were kept waiting for up to two hours at Shoalhaven Hospital's Emergency Department ona busier than normal New Year's Eve.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At one stage, at about 10.45pm, there were five ambulances banked up, waiting to have their patients admitted.
As well as medical emergencies, there was a run of alcohol and drug-related callouts and mental health issues that kept crews busy until the early hours of New Year's Day.
Delays triaging ambulance patients through the so-called "airlock" at the entrance to the emergency ward were blamed by one paramedic for the long wait.
Read more:
Across Ambulance NSW's Southern Division, which stretches from Helensburgh to the Victorian border and west to Balranald, there were 500 ambulance callouts.
And New Year's Day was shaping up to be almost as busiy, with 354 jobs logged by about 3pm.
"Clearly people are still not listening to the messages about drinking in moderation and avoiding drug use," the paramedic said.
Shoalhaven Hospital Group Director Medical Services, Dylan Mordaunt said: "Shoalhaven Hospital Emergency Department (ED) experienced a higher than usual number of presentations [on New's Year's Eve].
"The hospital has systems in place to manage increases in presentations and, as always, staff work closely with NSW Ambulance to ensure patients receive the care they need as quickly as possible.
"Patients can be assured that the most serious cases will always be attended to promptly in emergency, whether they arrive at the ED by Ambulance or other means. The local community and visitors to the area are encouraged to consider seeing a GP or local medical centre when they have less serious illness or injury."