NSW Labor has called on the state government to investigate staffing levels at Maitland Hospital after a spike in patients led to the activation of a ‘‘code red’’ to deal with the logjam in its emergency department.
The hospital has played down the incident saying the code red – which activates a planned response from the entire hospital – is a routine operation.
A spokesperson for health minister Jillian Skinner said it was a matter for Hunter New England Health to respond to.
Maitland Hospital general manager Velda Sturt said an increase in number and severity of emergency department patients on Thursday led to the hospital’s code red response.
‘‘While the hospital did reach the highest level because of the higher number of patients and their acuity, our response protocol was implemented and the code level decreased,’’ Ms Sturt said.
But Labor health spokesperson Walt Secord demanded a state government explanation.
“Hospitals should be properly resourced to cope with fluctuations in demand but Maitland is suffering under the brunt of Liberal government cutbacks . . . Maitland Hospital serves a growing population – and if the cuts continue – we worry about the ability to respond to other emergencies,’’ Mr Secord said.