NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner has promised more beds and a pediatric unit at a troubled western Sydney hospital hours after the release of a damning report on waiting times.
Fresh figures showed Nepean Hospital has the worst waiting times in NSW with more than half the patients stuck in emergency departments for more than four hours before being treated.
The Bureau for Health Information found 95 per cent of Nepean patients with potentially life-threatening conditions are waiting more than 244 minutes for treatment - eight times the recommended time.
Ms Skinner said the hospital's emergency department urgently needed a separate area for sick children, similar to other Sydney hospitals.
"(That is) something that I believe should have been done years ago, frankly," she said.
"I can't tell you the exact number of beds but I know it will make a huge difference having the pediatric patients separated from the adult patients."
The under-fire Ms Skinner, who has faced calls in recent weeks to be sacked over baby gas mix-ups at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, faced the media on Wednesday afternoon after the release of the quarterly report.
She defended the reputation of Nepean Hospital, where a police officer and hospital security guard were shot by a patient in January.
"I think they have struggled, I think it has been very difficult for them. I am very proud of the work they have done in many areas," she said.
AMA NSW President Brad Frankum said emergency departments were at "tipping point".
"The report worries me actually because it shows that an ongoing, unexpected increase in the number of presentations to the emergency department, particularly patients in the higher triage categories and they are the very sick critically ill patients," he said.
He said while the performance of staff in emergency departments has been steady, it is not going to continue without additional resources.
"This month or quarter by quarter increase in activity isn't sustainable," he said.
"The emergency departments have done really well to keep up but we are at a tipping point."
