Unprecedented numbers of patients are flooding NSW emergency departments and elective surgery waiting lists, as doctors warn the state’s hospitals are in “critical condition”. A total of 764,610 people presented at the emergency departments between July and September – 47,059 more than in the same quarter last year (a 6.6 per cent increase). The numbers of critically ill patients have been rising at a rate never before seen by NSW frontline staff.Credit:Glen Hunt The numbers of critically ill patients – increasing faster than population growth – have been rising at a rate never before seen by frontline staff, the latest Bureau of Health Information report shows. Timeliness of care was under this immense pressure as more patients waited too long for treatment, the report released on Wednesday showed. “We’ve just experienced the longest flu season in a decade – the longest since the 2009 pandemic – and hospital presentations […]