The NSW Opposition Leader has called the death of a 21-year-old woman a "horrifying example" of the pressure on emergency departments in New South Wales.
Dua Ali, who lived with Turner's Syndrome and autism, was coughing and vomiting when she was taken to Blacktown Hospital in Western Sydney in late January.
She was diagnosed with food poisoning and went home, but deteriorated over the next day, and her family called an ambulance.
Dua was operated on but died the following morning, after having an aortic dissection, which is a condition she was at high risk of because of her Turner's Syndrome.
Her family wants to know why more tests weren't conducted when they first took her to emergency.
"Why in a hospital that's equipped with everything, every scan, and every test why they didn't do that, on our non-verbal child who is in pain constantly?" her father Asif Ali asked.
They are also angry her brother wasn't allowed to accompany Dua and their mother, to translate and advocate for them, as Dua was non-verbal and their mother had limited English.
Dua's death was not referred to the coroner, but an investigation is now underway after her father complained to the Health Care Complaints Commission.
Chris Minns said Blacktown Hospital is under intense pressure, having lost 21 emergency nurses since December — a figure confirmed by the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association.
"It's such a horrifying example of the real pressure that our emergency departments are under at the moment in New South Wales," he said.
"It is a real crisis, we are in critical need of urgent intervention in public hospitals right across western Sydney.
"I know that 21 emergency nurses have left the [Blacktown Hospital emergency] department since Christmas, they are under severe stress and strain like never before."
Mr Minns' federal Labor colleague, Campbelltown MP Mike Freelander, is a paediatrician who has worked in public hospitals for around 40 years.
He said it's clear the health system is broken.
"When we say the system is broken, it doesn't mean it never works, what it means is there is enormous pressure on junior staff to get people in and out very quickly," he said.
"It means people can't stay and be observed, it means there's pressure on to do things very quickly when maybe it's best to observe and see what happens.
"So the system increases the risk of mistakes happening, of accidents happening and of care not being to a standard we would all expect."
A spokesperson for Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) said the family would be kept fully informed of the findings of the inquiry into Dua's death.
"A record 10,148 full-time equivalent staff will also be recruited to hospitals and health services across NSW over four years, as part of the NSW Government's 2022-23 Budget," they said in a statement.
"The $4.5 billion investment includes a $1.76 billion boost for NSW Ambulance to recruit 2,128 new staff and open 30 more stations."
Premier Dominic Perrottet offered his condolences to Dua's family, while also defending the NSW health system.
"My heart goes out in relation to the family involved in that matter," he said.
"I will always say because I know it to be true that NSW has the best health system in this country by a long way.
"There are always going to be challenges in respect to the health system, there always are and there always will be.
"We've invested so much in our health system."
Dr Freelander said there needed to be a political shift to ensure the healthcare system was properly resourced.
"It's been rundown over the last ten years terribly," he said.
"And you can go to any public hospital in NSW and ask the staff the same questions and I'm sure you'll get the same answers.
"Not enough resources, increased risk of problems, and really a system that has been broken for a considerable period of time."
