On Tuesday night the Leeton District Hospital’s emergency department (ED) was without an on-call doctor until 8am on Wednesday. 

There will again be no on-call doctor available to cover the ED from 2pm on Friday until 8am on Saturday. 

NSW Nurses Association organiser for the Murrumbidgee Local Heath District, Zoe Guinea, said there had been 13 occasions of this happening in the past 12 months in Leeton. 

“It does place extra burden and stress on the nurses,” she said. 

“Not only for them, but it goes down the chain as well if a patient has to be transferred to Griffith so you’ve got the doctors and nurses there, plus the paramedics doing extra work that they wouldn’t have to be doing if the hospital in Leeton was covered.

“Our nurses at Leeton are already over-worked and short-staffed. 

“We hope a solution can be found to this matter.”

The Irrigator has learned there are currently two doctors in town who refuse to be placed on the on-call rosters for doctors in town.

It is believed should they be put on this roster, that could go a way to easing the burden placed on the doctors who already cover the ED. 

Leeton has four general practitioners, supported by four registrars who are credentialed to cover the ED at the hospital. 

The MLHD will be meeting with them to discuss improved rostering. 

When there isn’t a doctor available, the hospital puts into effect the Clinical Operations Standard Operating Procedure (COSOPS) policy, which is a pathway implemented by all small hospitals across the state.

“All patients who arrive at an ED where there is no rostered doctor are assessed and treated by highly-qualified registered nurses (RN) who have been trained in emergency care,” MLHD director operations Brett Thompson said.

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“Any patients requiring a higher level of care will be transferred to the nearest appropriate hospital. 

“The COSOPS policy includes notifying the Ambulance Service and surrounding hospitals if patients require transfer to another facility for further treatment.”

Residents should call Triple Zero in the event of an emergency.