Last week I started to speak on the improvements at Blacktown Hospital over the past three years. I thank all the staff for their hard work and dedication, and for putting their heart and soul into doing the best they can to help patients and their families. Shane Widloecher, the acting general manager of Blacktown and Mt Druitt hospitals, leads the team and is very passionate in addressing the needs of patients and the community. We both acknowledge that we will not always get everything right, but I really appreciate her openness and willingness to critique the actions of the hospital to look for learnings moving forward. It is like a breath of fresh air since Amanda Larkin became the Acting Chief Executive of Western Sydney Local Health District. Amanda and her executive team listen and work with staff, patients, their families and their communities to see how one of the largest health districts by population can deliver for the needs in our area.
Last week in this House I spoke about the emergency department [ED] triage category 2, or T2, treatment times. I reiterate that in March 2011, when the Coalition won office, 85 per cent of patients triaged as T2 emergency patients were seen on time. By the time the Liberal Party and The Nationals lost office in March 2023, that rate had fallen to 16 per cent, with a low of 10 per cent in the preceding six months. We should stop and think about that for a moment: Only one in 10 people triaged as an emergency patient, who must be seen by a doctor within 10 minutes, actually saw a doctor on time, and nine out of 10 did not.
Despite spending $700 million on bricks and mortar, creating the world's smallest waiting room and winning 40 architectural awards, during the Liberal years we saw a crisis in maternity, chaos in emergency departments, a lack of staffing to address population growth and suppressed wages for our health and allied health workers. Since the election of the Minns Labor Government, the Minister for Health has issued instructions to our executive to work with community representatives, staff and patients to deliver improved programs. In three years, we have delivered an increase of 155 extra full-time equivalent staff—59 medical staff and 96 nurses.
We have allocated $120 million for 60 new beds for Blacktown and Mount Druitt hospitals, with 30 to be delivered in Blacktown by the end of the year. The brand-new, $910 million Rouse Hill Hospital will take pressure off Blacktown. There is a new emergency department ward of eight beds for aged-care home patients who present at the ED. We have introduced the Hospital in the Home program. A new virtual hospital unit has been established at Blacktown Hospital. A new breast screening clinic opened in 2025. The last one closed under the previous Government and screening rates fell.
The Government has also removed the wages cap and established the Industrial Court. A recent decision in the Industrial Relations Commission awarded nurses with one of the highest wage increases in decades. We have implemented a State government payroll tax subsidy for GPs who bulk-bill more than 80 per cent of their patients. Patients waiting longer than recommended for elective surgery went from 412 in March 2023—from a high of 509 in September 2022—to zero in December 2025. Under a Labor government, it has gone from 509 patients to zero. There is an expanded role for pharmacists' healthcare services.
The Federal Government has also provided two urgent care clinics, in Rooty Hill and Quakers Hill, and a brand-new Medicare mental health clinic. There are many challenges in my local area. The Minns Government has made a substantial difference. We have seen rates in emergency fall to as low as 10 per cent. Some 40 per cent of patients are now being seen on time. The numbers are not all great. There is still a lot more work to be done. But we are finally starting to see changes and improvements in Blacktown because of those fundamental changes to how health is treated in the area. Shame on the Coalition. We cannot allow a Liberal-Nationals-One Nation coalition. A conservative government would be a tragedy for the people of Blacktown.
