THE Australian Medical Association’s New South Wales president, Dr Kathryn Austin, has issued a statement responding to the Bureau of Health Information’s Healthcare Quarterly report for October to December, 2025, releases earlier this month.

Dr Austin said if the quarterly report was a bank statement, the trajectory of numbers would be pleasing. of the numbers.

“Tragically, it is not,” she said.

“Ambulance call-outs and emergency department attendances were the highest we have seen since the BHI began reporting in 2010.

Dr Austin said a record number of patients walked out without starting or finishing treatment in an ED during this reporting period – an incredible 79,000 people, or a rise of almost 10,000 in a year.

“This is highly concerning, given almost 35 per cent of those were in triage category 3 – needing urgent care for potentially life-threatening conditions and unsuitable to be treated at an urgent care centre,” Dr Austin said.

She said people needing non-urgent elective surgery waited longer, and there were more elective surgeries performed in this quarter than the same quarter the previous year due to the assistance of the private health system.

“Yet again, we have a system in crisis,” Dr Austin said.

“And yet again, we are not seeing any tangible plans from the NSW Government to deal with the rising tide of patients needing hospital care for increasing complex issues.

“We know that many patients who receive appropriate primary health care can avoid costly hospital admissions.

“However, we need a clear plan for challenging tackling chronic issues such as obesity and diabetes before they reach our hospital corridors.

“If governments are serious about easing pressure on hospitals, they must implement the Special Commission of Inquiry into Healthcare Funding Inquiry’s recommendations and invest properly in prevention,” she said.

Dr Kathryn Austin says “we have a system in crisis”, in response to the Bureau of Health Information’s Healthcare Quarterly report for October to December, 2025.

Dr Austin said hospitals are under-funded and funded for getting people through faster, rather than delivering the high-stakes, complex care so many patients require.

“But where is the increased budget and workforce development plans beyond employing new doctors and graduate nurses,” she asked.

“We know that while elderly and NDIS patients are languishing in acute care hospitals due to a lack of beds in aged care facilities and disability homes, but they are not singularly responsible for the logjam in our public hospitals.

“Under-funding, under-staffing and lack of vision in preventative care play significant roles – all under the control of the state government – and the NSW Health Minister knows it.

“We repeat our urgent call for an end to boom or bust funding; investment in public hospitals; more consultant doctor positions; modernised industrial arrangements to attract and retain doctors; and the funding of preventative health measures.

“The system needs help now. Let’s stop playing politics with people’s lives,” Dr Austin said.