Newy 87.8 FM – One in ten patients at Calvary Mater Newcastle's emergency department spent almost 15 hours or more there in January–March 2026, the worst result on record for the Waratah hospital, Bureau of Health Information data shows.
The 90th percentile time spent in the ED for all attendances was 897 minutes — 14 hours and 57 minutes — more than double the 397 minutes recorded in January–March 2016.
The median time for treated-and-discharged patients was 293 minutes, or four hours and 53 minutes, the second-worst in the Bureau's series for the hospital. The worst-ever median was 309 minutes in July–September 2025. In January–March 2016 the median was 145 minutes.
The ED recorded 8,965 attendances in the quarter. Just over half of patients — 52.1 per cent — were discharged within four hours, while 86.1 per cent left the ED within 12 hours. Some 62.4 per cent of ambulance patients were transferred from paramedics within 30 minutes.
John Hunter Hospital recorded a worse median for treated-and-discharged patients, at 324 minutes, with a 90th percentile of 836 minutes for all attendances.
NSW Health announced in August 2025 that planning had commenced to implement Safe Staffing Levels in the Mater ED, the first Affiliated Health Organisation in NSW to begin implementation.
A NSW Health taskforce is also running a remediation program at the Mater covering HVAC, moisture and mould, and deferred maintenance, initially funded through the $400 million Health Asset and Equipment Renewal program.
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