Page 1832 - Week 06 - Thursday, 30 July 2020
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Ms Stephen-Smith: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1-2)
Total Emergency Department (ED) presentations grew by 2.5 per cent in the first half of 2019-20 compared to the same period in 2018 19. However, the most urgent and complex presentations in triage Categories 1 to 3 increased significantly by 38.3 per cent, 18.8 per cent and 7.3 per cent respectively over the same period.
Canberra Health Services Emergency Department presentations remained high throughout this period. This can be seen in the graphic on page 14 when comparing Quarter 2 of 2019 20 to the same quarter of the previous year.
Canberra Health Services strategic planning includes hospital-wide actions targeting improvement in seen on time performance. Performance improvements have already been observed as these actions are being implemented.
(3) Total Seen on Time (SoT) has been publicly available since 2006-07. As can be seen below, the SoT outcome has fluctuated over time. The Government has recognised that the results for 2017 18 and 2018 19 do not meet community expectations and has invested in infrastructure and staffing to increase ED capacity, while Canberra Hospital has also developed a Timely Care Strategy to address bed block and improve the patient experience.
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Proportion of ED presentations seen on time (SoT) – ACT | |||||||||||||
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SoT is the percentage of patients starting treatment within the recommended timeframe for all triage categories combined. | |||||||||||||
|
2006-07 |
2007-08 |
2008-09 |
2009-10 |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
2018-19 | |
|
SoT (%) |
54 |
58 |
60 |
62 |
55 |
55 |
51 |
61 |
59 |
59 |
62 |
49 |
46 |
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Data source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reports on Emergency Department Care | |||||||||||||
There are many factors that can impact emergency department performance, including:
• growth in emergency department presentations:
o AIHW data shows that ACT ED presentations grew by around 4 per cent per year on average over this reporting period.
o In several years, presentations growth exceeded 5 per cent and in 2016-17 exceeded 6 per cent;
• increasing hospital admissions and complexity of patient presentations.
In addition to work on the Timely Care Strategy, the Government is investing in additional staffing and infrastructure to improve emergency department performance, including:
• an additional two senior staff specialists for Canberra Hospital’s ED;
• 12 additional beds at Canberra Hospital to reduce bed block;
• increasing Calvary Public Hospital Bruce’s ED capacity by 50 per cent (22 treatment spaces), with new spaces having opened in a staged way during 2020, increasing the ACT hospital system’s overall ED capacity by 20 per cent;
• providing alternative forms of clinical treatment through walk-in centres to allow the right treatment in the right place;
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