According to NSW Health, Canterbury Hospital services about 220,000 people from the surrounding area and manages about 50,000 presentations to its Emergency Department annually.
In December 2020, senior staff from Canterbury Hospital in Sydney’s south-west wrote to the NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard expressing concerns over that hospital’s conditions, which were described as appalling.
The complaint to the NSW Health Minister reports an exponential growth in the local population with a growing patient load that is not being met by Canterbury Hospital.
Despite the exponential growth in its local population, Canterbury Hospital has not undergone a major upgrade for over 20 years. Canterbury Hospital was to receive a $1 million redevelopment in 2019, however, this has not yet occurred. This has left patients that cannot afford to access the private healthcare system with a standard of care that has been described as “third-world”. Another area of concern that was brought to the attention of the NSW Health Minister is the state of the current surgical facilities at Canterbury Hospital that were described as “inadequate” and “poorly resourced”. The complaint reports a significant increase in elective and emergency surgeries yet Canterbury Hospital is unable to fully utilise their surgical facilities.
The complaint also outlines severe deficiencies in the non-clinical spaces of Canterbury Hospital and those deficiencies have affected the hospital’s ability to train and teach junior medical staff. The lack of resources does not allow Canterbury Hospital to care for the wellbeing of its junior staff. This raises serious concerns regarding Canterbury Hospital’s ability to provide safe and adequate treatment to its patient without an upgrade. In our experience, these deficiencies result in a higher risk of errors and mistakes being made. The lack of staff and appropriate funding could have severe negative impact on the health of patients.
Our experience
Turner Freeman have acted for numerous clients who have had poor outcomes in rural and regional settings. We know from our experience that rural and regional patients are at a disadvantage because of the lack of resources and expertise to deal with specific medical complaints. This coupled with delays in transfer to bigger hospitals where further investigations can take place can have devastating consequences.
Get in touch with us.
If you have or someone you know has had a poor outcome following medical treatment, it is important you get advice as to your legal options.
At Turner Freeman, we have specialist medical negligence lawyers who will assess your case and provide personalised advice regarding your legal entitlements. Our medical negligence lawyers are located across NSW including in our offices in Parramatta, Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and Toronto.
