Victor spent three nights waiting in a Sydney ED. He left without finishing his treatment

Victor Ishak spent three nights waiting in Bankstown’s emergency department with his left leg swelled to almost double its size, and barely able to walk.

The 70-year-old was sent to the ED by his GP, who immediately saw the potential red flags. He spent last Friday night on a hard chair in the hospital’s public reception area, as other patients slept on the floor, then the next two nights on a chair that reclined – but not enough to sleep.

“It was like a halfway house,” Ishak said. “We’re not in a Third World country, we shouldn’t be in systems like this.”

By Monday evening – his fourth night in the ED – Ishak was told there were simply not enough beds: “They gave us all an option to either stay where we were in those chairs, or to go home.”

Ishak said although his ankle still resembled “a baby elephant” he chose to sleep in the comfort of his own bed. He returned the next day to see a specialist, with Liverpool Hospital to contact him about taking a sample from his leg. Liverpool did not contact him until Thursday, after this masthead had contacted NSW Health media.

According to his discharge summary, Ishak was still awaiting the results of 21 tests when he left the hospital.

Australian Medical Association NSW president Dr Fred Betros said in an ideal world Ishak would not have been discharged before physicians had received results.

“Sometimes it’s an error not to ask for a test, but I think it’s a bigger error to ask for a test and then not know the result before you decide to send someone home.”

In a statement, South Western Sydney LHD apologised to Ishak, and said they were providing follow-up care and support.

“During busy periods, some patients may experience longer than expected time in the emergency department while seriously unwell patients are prioritised for emergency care,” the statement read. “We acknowledge it is difficult and frustrating for people when they wait for longer than they expect … and we thank the community for their patience.”

Patients across the state are waiting for increasingly prolonged periods, particularly in Sydney’s outer suburbs.

One in 10 patients across NSW waited more than 24 hours to be treated and admitted to a ward or transferred to another hospital in the first quarter of 2026, according to NSW Bureau of Health Information data. That wait time has jumped more than two-and-a-half hours compared to the same period last year. In south-western Sydney, one in 10 patients waited over 28 hours to be admitted, while 10 per cent of Bankstown patients waited about 27 hours.

In a bid to address the escalating crisis, the NSW government announced a $130 million investment in a further 22 short-stay recliner chairs at emergency wards across NSW on Monday. These spaces are only intended to house patients for between four and 24 hours.

While he acknowledged the privacy of the recliner was more comfortable than the reception area, Ishak spent over 77 hours in Bankstown’s emergency department, and was never offered a bed.