Lambton's Joanne Coleman waited 14 hours to see a doctor at the Calvary Mater emergency department, amid a deepening crisis in the Hunter's public hospital system.
She had seen her GP that day for a badly swollen knee and calf.
He gave her a letter to take to hospital for assessment of a suspected case of deep vein thrombosis in her right leg.
Joanne, 49, arrived at the Mater at about 3pm last Thursday. She wasn't seen by a doctor until 5am the next morning. At 11.30am, they did an ultrasound, which was all clear.
She was discharged about 22 hours after she arrived.
It was a relief for Joanne, after a "painful and exhausting" wait in the ED waiting room.
"You can't sleep sitting up and the chair is so uncomfortable," said Joanne who works in aged-care catering.
Asked why she stayed at the hospital, Joanne said "I can die if a clot travels to my lungs and heart".
She has had deep vein thrombosis and a pulmonary embolism a few times before.
"They involve blood clots in the leg and lungs," she said.
As the Newcastle Herald has reported, the Mater has also been embroiled in a mould and maintenance scandal for more than a year.
The scandal has taken a heavy toll on Mater staff, along with patients.
Joanne said the nurses at the Mater were "very overworked and apologetic".
She said the wait in the ED was "unbelievable". She counted 20 people waiting there when she arrived.
She noticed three left the hospital, including an elderly lady, without seeing a doctor.
"The elderly lady had fallen on her head. She couldn't stay any longer. It was too much for her," she said.
Joanne's mum Mary Coleman, a retired nurse and midwife with 50 years' experience, said she was "absolutely appalled" by the length of her daughter's wait.
Mary said it could be dangerous for people to leave the ED without being seen.
"What happened to that elderly lady? Did she go home on her own? I have lodged a complaint with the Mater," she said.
She raised the issue "given the ongoing public discussions around Hunter New England Health infrastructure, funding and bed shortages".
"The Mater ED has reached a tipping point for patients. The nursing and medical staff were overwhelmed," Mary said.
"Something has to change. Bad things will continue to happen until good people speak up."
The Mater replied to Mary's complaint, saying they "sincerely apologise for not meeting your expectations and for any distress this experience may have caused you".
The email said her concerns had been forwarded to the ED's nurse unit manager, who will "get back to you as soon as possible, or no later than 35 days", the email said.
Mary said they "fobbed us off to the nurse unit manager".
"That is ridiculous. How is it her fault Joanne waited all that time? It's got nothing to do with her," she said.
The Mater was contacted for comment.
The latest data shows the median time spent in the ED at the Mater for patients treated and discharged was four hours and 53 minutes from January to March this year.
That was the second-worst result on record behind the previous quarter when the median wait was five hours and nine minutes.
A decade ago the median wait was two hours and 33 minutes.
One in 10 patients spent 14 hours and 57 minutes in the Mater ED from January to March, the worst result on record. This figure has also doubled in a decade.
The latest data shows the waits are similar at John Hunter Hospital.
