A senior NSW health bureaucrat has brushed off claims the mid-north coast is one of the most dangerous health districts in the state, after five hospital workers were injured in a violent incident at a hospital last year.
The attack at Port Macquarie Base Hospital in the early hours of January 2021, left staff with broken ribs, bite wounds, a broken arm as well as cuts and bruises.
Union officials at the time said it was a miracle that no-one was killed.
The hospital workers were set upon as they tried to restrain a man who had been brought to the hospital's emergency department in handcuffs by police.
In a NSW parliamentary inquiry on Tuesday, Labor's Walt Secord suggested to Mid North Coast Local Health District CEO Stewart Dowrick, the area was one of the most unsafe in the state for health care staff and patients.
Mr Dowrick described the attack as a "very tragic event" that was a "one-off" for the health district, which comprises 17 hospitals and community health centres stretching from Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour.
"I believe our staff did their best in a very difficult situation in the early hours of that morning," Mr Dowrick told the inquiry which is looking into regional and remote health outcomes.
Security at the hospital was boosted after the attack and a district security manager had been hired to oversee security across the whole local health district, he said.
Asked by Mr Secord about "retribution" handed to those who blew the whistle about violence in the health district, Mr Dowrick said there were "very robust" systems in place to support those who spoke out.
"We welcome our employees to come forward and speak with us," he said.
The staff injured in the attack were no longer employed there after taking workers' compensation, Mr Dowrick said.
"There were apologies given to some of those individuals, we wanted to support them."
Mr Dowrick was also quizzed about reports of nurses doing up to 40 hours overtime per week at Coffs Harbour Base Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, and claims the level of care was dropping at the facility.
He conceded overtime was occurring but said the area had just gone through its "largest graduate recruitment program" to boost nurse numbers.
"That's been a really important program," he said.
The inquiry also heard that just two ambulances served around 80,000 people living in the Blue Mountains.
Mr Secord asked Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District CEO Kay Hyman if she was surprised by that figure.
"Would you challenge my statement that there are only two ambulances in the Blue Mountains," he asked.
"I can't comment," Ms Hyman said.
When asked about a proposed new hospital for the Blue Mountains that was promised in 2018, Ms Hyman said it was "a priority" but said no money had been spent yet.
"There has not yet been an allocation of capital funds," she said.
The inquiry, which began in 2020, has previously heard evidence in Deniliquin, Cobar, Wellington, Dubbo, Gunnedah, Taree, and Lismore.
The public hearings will finish in Sydney on Wednesday.
