Ms JENNY AITCHISON (Maitland—Minister for Roads, and Minister for Regional Transport) (20:06): Tonight I talk about the Maitland Hospital and health generally in the electorate of Maitland. I remember the very first question I asked in this House, which was to the then Minister for Health Jillian Skinner. I asked her when patients would be seen in the new Maitland Hospital, which had been promised four years before I entered Parliament, and she said, "When it's built." I think that was the first and last time I spoke to her because I could not get a briefing with her. Things improved very much with the member for Wakehurst, former Minister Hazzard, who was a very good Minister to work with and someone who I have modelled myself on. It was interesting to hear the bleating from the member for Clarence, as Minister Whan acknowledged, on some of the things that are not really important in the scheme of things. I have been to Clarence a number of times, met with the member and his council and got some things done for him, but I did not hear any thanks for that tonight. I guess that is where we are.

In 2022 the Maitland community welcomed the opening of the new Maitland Hospital in Metford, a mere 11 years after it was promised under those opposite. That followed a seven-year campaign to ensure that the significant health investment remained in public hands. I update the community on what is happening with our health services because a lot of things have changed and continue to improve under the Minns Labor Government. We are still experiencing difficulties. The former Government left our health system in a complete state due to underfunding and understaffing. At one stage the emergency department at Maitland Hospital had the highest walkout rate in the State. It did not matter whether it was at the old hospital, which was at the same site at Campbells Hill for 175 years, or the new hospital at Metford, over the past 10 years of my time in Parliament I have been doing everything I can to improve the hospital's outcomes.

I met with Minister Park this week and I update my community on that. In February 2025 three patient flow officers were announced for the Maitland Hospital emergency department. That includes a whole-of-health program coordinator and a flow navigator to reduce the delays and coordinate escalation and transfer of care. That is helping to reduce ramping. There is a 20 per cent improvement in the transfer of care performance, which is the statistic that tracks if patients who arrive by ambulance are off-loaded within 30 minutes. I spoke to Adam Hall and his colleague from the Health Services Union today, and they made the point that paramedics will not offload a patient when they do not feel that continuity of care will happen. That is a good outcome.

We also know that patients get home earlier if they are identified as being able to be discharged. That is helping to reduce inpatient stays and hospital readmissions. There is no point sending people home if they will have to come back. The average length of stay for patients in the emergency department has reduced by two hours since July 2024 and the percentage of presentations classified as category two—to be seen within 10 minutes—has improved by 15 per cent just in the past month, so it is working. In addition the emergency department short stay unit has received funding and is now a 24/7 service. An early treatment zone allows patients to be triaged more quickly because they are assessed by a senior clinician and receive appropriate early care. Efficiencies include surge bed capacity, multidisciplinary coordination of care, and a transit unit.

Most important of all are the people. Since the election Minister Park and I have spoken regularly to our health workers in all parts of the hospital system and they are telling us challenging stories about the difficulties they are having in securing staff. Minister Park reported to me yesterday that the total nursing workforce at Maitland Hospital has increased by 110 nurses in two years—by 20 per cent. As at February 2025, there were 652 nurses. Fourteen of the additional nurses are in the emergency department, bringing the total number in that department to 100. That is a really significant improvement. I thank the new leadership team at Maitland Hospital for driving that change.

We are also working on the old Maitland Hospital site. We are consulting with the Minister for Health and the Minister for Lands and Property, Minister Kamper, to ensure that site is looked after into the future. It is always a terrible experience to have health issues that require a hospital stay, but I can say that there is an overall decrease in the negative experiences people are having. Overall, patients are congratulating the staff, who are such caring and dedicated people.