OZschwitz: Public hospitals on 'brink of collapse'

THE state's public hospitals are "in a period of crisis" requiring an urgent and radical overhaul to make patients "the paramount central concern" and relieve the pressure on overworked medical staff.

In his report released yesterday, Commissioner Peter Garling, SC, warned that the public health system was on the brink of collapse and that staff are so swamped by paperwork patients suffer.

The 1100-page report contains 139 recommendations including that only patients who need treatment within 30 minutes of arriving at hospital be seen in emergency departments, while others should be sent to specialist centres within hospitals staffed by general practitioners.

He said NSW Health should refund patients the cost of medication to treat any infections they picked up in hospital, which is often the result of staff not adequately washing their hands, and staff should wear colour-coded uniforms to be easily identifiable.

Mr Garling, who visited 61 hospitals, took more than 1200 written submissions and heard from 628 witnesses, also said that the health system was plagued by bullying, which he said was "endemic" in hospitals.

LNK

OZschwitz: Public hospitals on 'brink of collapse'

OZschwitz: Public hospitals on 'brink of collapse'

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