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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 6 Hansard (22 June) . . Page.. 1751 ..

Mr Stanhope asked the Minister for Health and Community Care, upon notice, on 4 May 1999:

In relation to The Canberra Hospital (TCH) bypass system:

(1) How many times has TCH been on bypass this year

(2) On each occasion what triggered the bypass.

Mr Moore: The answer to Mr Stanhope's question is:

The Canberra Hospital offers a major trauma service and is never "on bypass" for seriously ill patients of any description. The hospital operates a "stable patient redirection" policy whereby ACT Ambulance Control is directed to transport stable patients excluding Priority 1, paediatrics, trauma, plastics, orthopaedic, ENT, thoracic, vascular, neurosurgery, renal, endocrine and neurology patients to Calvary Hospital.

Clearly this is a large list of exclusion criteria, and a relatively small number of patients are redirected.

(1) Stable patient redirection records were not formally kept by The Canberra

Hospital until early 1999. For March and April 1999, there were 19 four hour

periods on eight different days when the stable patient redirection protocol was

activated.

(2) On each occasion, activation of the stable patient redirection protocol was

triggered by a lack of available inpatient beds.

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