THE pressure of this year's double-whammy - a heavy flu season combined with the Omicron outbreak of COVID-19 - is being blamed for record numbers of people leaving emergency departments without, or before completing treatment, longer ambulance wait times and delayed surgeries.
The latest data from the Bureau of Health Information reveals that 13,700 people left emergency departments across the Hunter New England District last quarter without, or before completing treatment, a 40 per cent increase (3957 presentations) on the same quarter last year.
