LIVERPOOL Hospital's emergency department is so understaffed that it never has a full roster of doctors at any time.
This is what the Chair of the NSW Faculty of the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine, Tony Joseph, said last week.
He was commenting on Health Minister Reba Meagher's recent announcement that three new emergency department doctor's positions would be created.
``The minister's announcement doesn't mean anything because those three new positions aren't really new positions at all,'' Dr Joseph said. ``All they've really done is replace people that have left the hospital or switched to part-time hours.
``A busy emergency room needs about 16 specialist emergency physicians to be working in shifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But most, like Liverpool, would be lucky to have 10 staff members, with the majority choosing to work less hours to minimise their stress.
``There is a national shortage of emergency physicians but hospitals in south-west Sydney are especially badly off because most young doctors don't want to travel all the way out there for work.
``Most hospitals are struggling with not enough staff to have a full working roster at any time, and many are also relying on locums, inexperienced doctors who work on a casual basis for higher pay.''
A South West Area Health Service spokeswoman said Liverpool Hospital had nothing further to add to Ms Meagher's comments.