A Darwin emergency department doctor has used a Territory Government press conference concerning New Year's Eve safety awareness to slam the NT hospital system, saying it is stretched beyond capacity.Dr Didier Palmer said the NT Health Minister was"fully aware" of issues facing the systemHealth Minister Natasha Fyles said work was underway to"free up" more beds
During the press conference, Royal Darwin Hospital emergency medicine director Didier Palmer said the hospital was"completely full", and that he had"just come out of crisis meetings because we have no beds". The press conference was organised to spread safety messages ahead of New Year's Eve, and was also attended by NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles.
With Ms Fyles standing beside him, Dr Palmer said the hospital was already short 25 beds ahead of New Year's Eve and that they were expecting up to 90 more admissions that day.