At a time when record numbers of patients are attending Queensland Emergency Departments, the most critical patients are still being seen on time.
However, less serious patients are being reminded that accessing treatment from more appropriate sources – such as GPs, pharmacies, Satellite Hospitals, or Urgent Care Clinics – will help keep emergency departments available for emergencies.
Across Wide Bay HHS, the average ED wait time in the period from April to June 2023 was 20 minutes compared to 35 minutes for the same period in 2022.
The percentage of patients transferred from QAS to an ED bed within 30 minutes (known as patient off stretcher time or POST) improved from 58 per cent to 63.2 per cent between April and June 2023.
At Hervey Bay Hospital, all 267 Category 1 patients – the most urgent cases – were seen by a clinician within two minutes of arriving at Hervey Bay Hospital Emergency Department in the 2022-23 financial year.
The average ED wait time in the period from April to June 2023 was 30 minutes compared to 50 minutes for the same period in 2022.
The percentage of patients transferred from QAS to an ED bed within 30 minutes (known as patient off stretcher time or POST) improved from 50.7 per cent to 63.3 per cent between April and June 2023.
However, less urgent presentations place unnecessary pressure on the system and, potentially, put the lives of others at risk.
Patients with conditions such as UTIs, earaches and ingrown toenails don’t need to attend an emergency department.
In the first six months of 2023, 499 category 5 patients presented at the Bundaberg Hospital Emergency Department and 847 to the Hervey Bay Hospital Emergency Department seeking treatment, many of whom could have sought their less-urgent treatment elsewhere.
In the most extreme case from May to July, a Bundaberg Hospital patient waited over 12 hours to be seen.
As well as people coming to the ED for repeat prescriptions and medical certificates, some less-urgent presentations included a splinter under a fingernail, a mild rash that had been present on their arm for three weeks, and someone who had ‘kicked their little toe on a stick yesterday’.
If you are unsure if you should attend the ED, call 13 HEALTH or your GP for advice.
