Mr CHRIS HARTCHER (Terrigal) [6.17 p.m.]: Today I speak about a traumatic experience suffered at Gosford Hospital by some of the elderly people in my electorate. I note that none of the elderly people who contacted me have any complaints about hospital staff, doctors or nurses. If anything, they praised the hospital staff, doctors and nurses for their dedication to a difficult and somewhat thankless job. We all know the harsh conditions under which medical staff in this State work. They are often understaffed, underfunded, overworked and stretched to the limits. I, together with many other members, congratulate them and thank them for their efforts. However, a policy at Gosford Hospital that was brought to my attention recently has caused me grave concern.

Ms O'Reily is an 86-year-old lady who has resided in my electorate for the past 30 years. She was recently admitted to Gosford Hospital after feeling unwell and calling for an ambulance. When she arrived at the hospital, she was immediately admitted and attended to by nurses. She was later moved from the emergency department to another ward, where she was left for several hours. The issue of concern for Ms O'Reily is that she was placed in a ward with two men, which left her in an understandably uncomfortable position. Ms O'Reily also expressed concern about an administrative error that was discovered when her son, who lives in Sydney, tried to contact her and was told by hospital staff that Ms O'Reily's daughter had just left. Ms O'Reily does not have a daughter; she has three sons. When Steven, her son, asked what the nurse was talking about, he was told that two people with no relationship to Ms O'Reily had been noted as her next of kin.

Ms O'Reily had not requested either of these people to be listed as her next of kin and was particularly distressed about who would have been notified if something had happened to her. Ms O'Reily was also concerned about how this could have been potentially distressing for the poor girl, who could have received a telephone call from the hospital to let her know that a loved one had been injured or had passed away only to discover later that it was not, in fact, anyone she knew. I am relieved to learn that this error has since been corrected. Since contacting my office, Ms O'Reily's story has been supported by two other elderly women who were placed in the same position as she: upon admission to Gosford Hospital they also were placed in rooms with men.

Mrs Hughes contacted me about her mother, aged 89, who was admitted to Gosford Hospital last week and initially placed in a surgical ward with three other women. Later she was transferred to another ward—a room occupied by two men. She was embarrassed and uncomfortable, to say the least, because one of the men was naked. Another elderly woman aged 76 has also contacted me. She had the same experience at Gosford Hospital some time ago. She was admitted to the emergency department and then transferred to another ward with male occupants. Like those before, she felt very uncomfortable and embarrassed about her situation. Unfortunately, it appears that this practice has been going on for some time. It should be noted that it is not only women who have been subjected to this embarrassment. Men have been placed in wards with women, and men—especially elderly men—are also uncomfortable and embarrassed to be in that situation.

Men and women at this stage in life deserve far better from our health system. Indeed, these people deserve the best we can offer. While times have changed—in recent years our society has developed a much more relaxed approach to gender differences and there is now considerable co-mingling of the sexes—it should be noted that patients in hospitals are sick people and, as such, have a much greater desire for privacy. Elderly people who are part of a generation that had much stricter gender separation are especially sensitive to being denied privacy. They should be accorded maximum respect and not placed in embarrassing situations. When we are sick we are all far more sensitive about personal privacy and are entitled to have that respected. Elderly men and women should not be placed in wards with members of the opposite gender—and nor should younger men and women. This practice cannot assist in any way the recovery of the sick, particularly elderly patients, who are already distressed about being in hospital. I have tabled questions about this matter for the Minister for Health and I await both her reply and her rectification of this problem.