Oh, I wish I’d known about this NSW Health Emergency Department waiting times webpage on the day my daughter cut her hand! We had just moved house and were unpacking boxes.
Within a couple of hours, Ms10 had cut herself badly whilst unwrapping a new kitchen knife. A very sharp new kitchen knife.
We wrapped a towel around the finger, which was bleeding profusely, and whizzed off to the local hospital. We waited for ages and then were very well looked after. Glue to the rescue, and lots of bandages and plasters.
Emergency Department Waiting Times in major NSW Hospitals
Unless you are having a huge emergency – in which case, call an ambulance – there’s often a bit of humming and hawing about whether to go to Emergency.
Checking out the Emergency Department Waiting Times web page might help you decide what to do.
There’s real time information on the site about how many people are waiting to be seen, and how many usually arrive at the time you are looking.
Here’s what’s happening at Royal North Shore Hospital right as I’m typing this.
Do We Really Need To Go To Emergency?
The latest medical incident happened last week. A nasty fall at gymnastics, a very sore elbow. We didn’t go to Emergency that time, instead went to our GP next day, then for an X-ray… then a week later did the same and went to a specialist too. MRI next…
Other ways to manage medical mishaps are:
- Call Healthdirect on 1800 022 222 anytime, it’s a phone line open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can chat through what is happening and work out what needs to be done.
- Visit your local pharmacist to ask their advice
Emergency departments really are for emergencies, and we are all happy not to go there unless we absolutely have to.
Do check what the wait times are if you are thinking of attending, it might be better to get to a GP instead.
Have you been to emergency lately?