NSW Premier Chris Minns has told residents to only present to an emergency department if they have extreme health needs, due to hospitals reaching capacity.
On Monday, the state saw around 10,000 patients present to emergency departments, the busiest winter day in NSW history, according to Health Minister Ryan Park.
Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane called the situation a “shocking state of affairs”.
Here’s the latest.
Background
There are 78 public emergency departments (ED) in NSW.
EDs are for serious injuries or illnesses, or life-threatening medical events.
This includes chest pain, falls, severe burns, serious mental health concerns, breathing difficulties, or paralysis.
In 2024-25, there were 3.2 million presentations in the state.
Across public hospitals, the bed occupancy rate was 94.8%.
A higher rate means more beds are filled, putting a greater strain on hospital staff and resources.
Advice
On Tuesday morning, Minns told Sydney radio station 2GB that patients with injuries “that can wait” such as “cuts, abrasions, bruises, things that can wait until the morning” should avoid the ED.
“If you feel or you’ve got any suspicion that your life might be in danger, please go to the emergency department,” he added.
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Minns clarified: “No one’s going to yell at you if you turn out to be wrong and it’s some other ailment that’s not life-threatening.”
At a press conference on Tuesday, Park said: “If it isn’t an emergency, make sure you’re accessing those alternative pathways to care.”
Park said NSW Health is “expecting busy periods over the next month or so. Realistically, we are in winter.”
Park emphasised that hospitals in Sydney’s west and south-west are “under [the] most pressure.”
Minns told 2GB the Government accepts “that there’s been an underinvestment” in Western Sydney.
Context
Minns said hospitals are expecting the next few weeks to be the worst of the flu season, which usually begins in May and lasts until September.
According to the latest data from NSW Health, influenza levels were moderate, with around 400 ED presentations.
Last year’s data shows a big spike in early July, with more than 1,000 ED presentations.
Opposition
In a press conference on Tuesday, Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane called the messaging “outrageous.”
“To have the Premier on radio saying ‘sure, if it’s life-threatening turn up, and if you get it wrong, by the way, no one’s going to yell at you,’ that is unhelpful and it is a bizarre indictment of the situation that we’re in,” she said.
Sloane said “every winter is a pressure point” that “reveal[s] a weakness in our system”.
