A North Lambton man whose wife and son have major health problems says the lack of beds at John Hunter Hospital is "absolutely appalling".
John Olive, who will turn 80 on Tuesday, said "it's a ridiculous situation".
"The state and federal governments ought to be brought to account," Mr Olive said.
"It needs to be out there in blaring headlines, so the bloody politicians get up off their arse and do something."
The Newcastle Herald reported in May that John Hunter Hospital was short by 40 to 65 beds every day.
John's son Rhys Olive, 43, has had surgery for idiopathic pancreatitis delayed three times.
"He's had three dates and each time they've postponed it. I suspect the lack of beds is the main factor," he said.
"The surgeon himself called my son this week, saying he was terribly sorry to have to cancel the operation again. Why would the surgeon be having to do that? It's ridiculous. He now has a fourth date set for September 4."
John's wife Sandra Olive, 79, had a brain aneurysm on August 10.
She has been in intensive care for almost a fortnight. Hospital staff tried to move her to a ward at one point, but no beds were available.
She has since had more procedures to ensure no further bleeding in the brain.
"It's absolutely traumatising," John said.
Rhys has been living with pancreatitis for a year and is in extreme pain daily.
"The only thing giving him the ability to move from one day to the next is copious amounts of Endone, the heavy opioid painkiller," John said.
Sandra's neurosurgeon told John that her vital signs were good, but "she's not out of the danger zone yet".
John said his wife and son's situations were "tough to deal with".
"The worst thing is seeing my poor son go through this terrible pain, literally curled up in agony, crying out until the Endone takes effect. It's horrible."
Rhys has had 15 ambulance trips to hospital in a year, some to the John Hunter and some to the Mater.
Rhys said it was "incredibly difficult" to be in and out of hospital, while dealing with his mum's illness, along with being a parent himself and too ill to work.
The family has private health insurance, but they hadn't been advised to seek Rhys' surgery in the private sector.
John's eldest son Jared Olive said it had been a difficult year for his family.
"During this process, I've learned there are many families going through this exact same issue with a lack of resourcing," he said.
Jared managed the ambulance response for his mum, saving her life after asking artificial intelligence about her symptoms, which said it sounded like a brain aneurysm and advised him to dial triple zero.
"If Jared hadn't been here, she may have died," John said.
John highlighted that John Hunter's new $835 million seven-storey acute services building had been completed without funding for extra beds.
"Our community has been hearing about bed shortages and ambulance ramping at John Hunter for well over a decade," he said.
John emailed NSW Health Minister Ryan Park and Premier Chris Minns about the lack of beds, along with Hunter New England Health chief executive Tracey McCosker, state Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp and federal Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon.
The Herald asked Hunter New England Health if there was any update from the Minns Labor government on when new beds would be created at John Hunter.
The health service did not respond before deadline.
John said his email was not criticism towards the doctors and nurses treating his family.
"They have been outstanding," he said.
He said the emergency response for his wife, who also suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage, was "exemplary".
The ambulance arrived within 10 minutes and she had a CT scan soon after arriving at John Hunter.
