Southern NSW Local Health District’s planned surgery, transfer of care time and emergency department performance was one of the best in NSW, according to the latest Bureau of Health Information Healthcare Quarterly report (October to December 2023).
SNSWLHD Chief Executive, Margaret Bennett, said the District performed 1,234 planned surgeries during the fourth quarter of 2023, despite high demand for emergency care.
“Almost all planned surgery in Southern was performed on time during the reporting period, a remarkable effort by staff and a great outcome for our patients,” Ms Bennett said.
Southern NSW LHD had one of the best results in the state for the percentage of planned surgeries performed on time, with 99.7 per cent of patients receiving their planned surgery on time, a 5.9 percentage points increase compared with the same quarter in 2022.
SNSWLHD was also among the state’s top performers for ED key indicators including the time to start treatment (79.9 per cent), the percentage of patients leaving the EDs within four hours (75.5 per cent), and the time to transfer of care from ambulance to hospital staff (95.8 per cent) which is the highest result in the state.
From October to December 2023, there were 30,893 attendances to EDs across SNSWLHD, which is a 1.3 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. More than half of the 30,270 presentations to the EDs were in the semi-urgent (triage 4) and non-urgent (triage 5) categories. Almost 8 in 10 patients started treatment on time (79.9 per cent), which is better than the NSW average (68.3 per cent).
The majority of patients also left the ED within four hours of arriving (75.5 percent), better than the NSW average (58.1 per cent). Almost all patients (95.8 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, a 6.5 per cent improvement compared with the same quarter in 2022, and better than the NSW average (79.9 per cent).
“Our staff have implemented a range of improvement strategies over the past 12-18 months to achieve these impressive results,” Ms Bennett said. “Strategies include daily huddles across all facilities, ongoing ED education programs to strengthen nursing triage protocols, regular reviews of clerical processes and systems, as well as management of discharges and delays.
“The most important outcome of this work is that patients in Southern NSW are given the very best care, as quickly as possible.”
All patients are seen and triaged on arrival at the ED and, as always, the most seriously unwell patients are treated first. During busy times, those with less urgent conditions will experience longer wait times when there are large numbers of seriously unwell patients being prioritised for emergency care.
SNSWLHD continues to remind everyone to support us by saving emergency departments and ambulances for saving lives. If an illness or injury is not serious or life-threatening, we encourage people to call Healthdirect Australia on 1800 022 222, for a 24-hour telephone health advice.
INDIVIDUAL HOSPITAL RESULTS
At Batemans Bay District Hospital there were 3,534 ED attendances between October and December 2023. The majority of patients (80.3 per cent) started treatment on time, which is better than the average of 79.6% for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. Pleasingly, nearly all patients (95.9 per cent) were transferred from paramedics to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark. Batemans Bay District Hospital performed 134 planned surgery procedures during the quarter. All planned surgeries were performed on time.
At Moruya District Hospital there were 3,453 ED attendances during the October to December 2023 quarter, which is a 3.3 per cent increase compared with the same time quarter in 2022. More than eight in 10 patients (83.5 per cent) started treatment on time, which is better than the average of 79.6% for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. Almost all patients (98.7 per cent) were transferred from paramedics to the ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark. Moruya District Hospital performed 144 planned surgeries during the quarter and all were performed on time.
At Goulburn Base Hospital there were 5,863 ED attendances during the quarter, which is a 10.2 per cent increase compared with the same quarter in 2022. More than nine in 10 patients (91 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, which is better than the average of 89.6% for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. During the October to December 2023 quarter, 398 planned surgeries were performed, with 99.7% performed on time.
At Cooma Hospital there were 2,894 ED attendances during the quarter. Almost nine in 10 patients (88.4 per cent) started treatment on time, which is better than the average of 79.6% for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. Nearly all patients (99.2 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, which is also better than the average of 94.6% for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. The majority of patients (82.4 per cent) left the ED within four hours, which is slightly above the average of 79.3% for comparable hospitals in NSW. There were 45 planned surgery procedures performed during the October to December 2023 quarter and all were performed on time.
At Queanbeyan Hospital there were 6,797 ED attendances during the October to December 2023 quarter. More than eight in 10 patients (84.1 per cent) started treatment on time, which is better than the average of 79.6% for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. More than eight in 10 patients (84 per cent) left the ED within four hours – also better than the average of 79.3% for comparable hospitals in NSW. Nearly all patients (97.6 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, also above the average of 94.6% for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. The hospital performed 198 planned surgery procedures during the quarter, with all urgent surgeries, and 98.9 per cent of semi-urgent surgeries, performed on time.
At South East Regional Hospital (SERH) there were 5,723 ED attendances during the October to December 2023 quarter. Almost eight in 10 patients started treatment on time (77.4 per cent), which is better than the average of 70.7% for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. More than nine in 10 patients (95.4 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, which is also better than the average of 89.6% for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. More than seven in 10 patients (72.9 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving – also better than the average of 63.2% for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. There were 315 planned surgeries performed during the quarter, with all procedures performed on time.
