Mark Brennan says he prepared for a difficult few months when he found out his father Robert had cancer.
But he said his family was traumatised after Robert, 83, was forced to wait outside a hospital with an ambulance crew before weeks of waiting for a biopsy.
"It's just disgusting … it's really taken its toll on both my parents," Mark said.
He said a doctor immediately called an ambulance to send Robert to hospital after a scan detected tumours last month.
What followed was a four-hour wait outside Port Macquarie Base Hospital.
"He waited for hours with the ambulance crew because there were no beds in (the emergency department)," Mr Brennan said.
Once inside it took 26 hours to then find a bed in the general hospital.
It meant the Port Macquarie man had to wait longer to get a biopsy done, delaying specialised treatment, with only pain relief medication able to ease his suffering.
"The doctors came around and said we urgently need to (do the) biopsy to see what type of cancer we're dealing with; nine days later we were still waiting," Mark said.
"We need a diagnosis so that the specialist at the hospital can continue with the correct treatment."
Mark works at the Port Macquarie Base Hospital and is its branch president for the Nurses and Midwives Association.
He said it took nine days to get a biopsy done by private provider I-MED Radiology Network, and another nine to receive the results back.
"The private and public sectors don't work together," he said.
The biopsy found Robert had a rare, aggressive form of carcinoma.
His diagnosis is terminal.
"It's just really hard to see (him) go through that, and my mum's suffering big time," Mark said.
Robert was admitted to hospital again after a fall last week and again waited in the emergency department for more than 24 hours.
Mr Brennan said the direct care his father received had been excellent, but was disappointed at a systemic level.
He wrote letters on behalf of his father to Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Regional Health Minister Bronnie Taylor.
He said Mr Hazzard's office referred him to Ms Taylor, whose office he said was yet to respond.
System under strain
In a statement, Mid North Coast Local Health District chief executive Stewart Dowrick apologised to Robert and his family.
"We understand that attending an emergency department can be a stressful situation for people and we sincerely apologise to Mr Brennan for the extended wait he experienced and the distress this caused to him and his family," Mr Dowrick said.
He said staff shortages at the hospital were contributing to higher waiting times as the health district had experienced sustained high demand for emergency care in recent months.
He said there had been significant staff absences due to COVID-19 and other illnesses.
"Port Macquarie Base Hospital has well-established workforce surge and demand management plans that are activated during periods of high demand, including increasing bed capacity in hospitals where possible," he said.
Mr Dowrick pointed to a range of NSW government measures as part of the 2022-23 budget that were targeted at improving conditions.
He said the health district had increased its workforce by more than 41 per cent between mid-2012 and mid-2021.
I-MED Radiology Network has been contacted for comment.
