Emergency care is declining across regional NSW with new data revealing patients are waiting longer for urgent treatment.

The latest Bureau of Health Information Healthcare Quarterly, released yesterday, shows more than 65,000 people didn’t start their treatment on time in major regional hospitals, with the report also revealing fewer patients are leaving emergency departments within a four-hour period, and it is taking longer to transfer them from an ambulance to the E.D.

According to Shadow Minister for Regional Health, Gurmesh Singh, country communities are being put at risk, saying there’s no question emergency care across regional NSW is in crisis, and that the Health Minister needs to remember his responsibilities extend beyond just Sydney.

Mr Singh says 885 patients every day across regional NSW are stuck in the emergency department for more than four hours, which is a huge increase on this time last year, and that all we’ve seen from the Minns Labor Government is broken promises and resources constantly stripped back, adding It’s not good enough and it’s pushing our regional health system to breaking point.