- Wide Bay emergency departments cared for an additional 1200 people in the June 2023 quarter, compared to the same period last year.
- Bundaberg Hospital emergency department experienced a 124% increase in Category 1 patients
- Wide Bay HHS treated 1,041 elective surgery patients in the June 2023 quarter, which was an 8.9% increase when compared to the same period in 2022.
Wide Bay HHS continues to provide quality care to the rapidly growing communities of Bundaberg and the Fraser Coast.
Wide Bay emergency departments supported 32,563 presentations in the June 2023 quarter – that equates to an additional 1200 people who were cared for by our hard-working emergency teams.
Despite a 65% increase in Category 1 patients presenting at Wide Bay emergency departments, with serious and life-threatening conditions, 100% of these critically injured or ill patients are seen within the recommended two minutes.
Overall median waiting time has improved significantly from 36 minutes in 2022 to 20 minutes in 2023. This indicates that the majority of our patients were seen within 20 minutes of their arrival.
Any patient who is waiting to be seen by our emergency department team is still being monitored and cared for by nursing or paramedic teams.
Wide Bay HHS treated 1,049 elective surgery patients in the most recent quarter, which was an 8.9% increase when compared to the same period in 2022.
Public specialist outpatient clinics across the Wide Bay saw 6,132 patients in the June 2023 quarter.
Our specialist outpatient teams, and our private partners are doing fantastic work ensuring patients have access to specialty services locally. This includes new clinics that have returned to the Wide Bay in the last two years such as urology and rheumatology.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Shannon Fentiman:
“While we have seen some improvements, we know there is much more work to do.
“Our emergency departments managed a record number of presentations, more than 10,500 than the same quarter last year, and our patient off stretcher times remained steady, at 55 per cent.
“Despite the rapid population growth we’re experiencing, and despite being the busiest in the country, our ambulance service is doing incredible work to look after their communities.
“These improvements would not be possible without the hard work, dedication, and commitment to patient care from our health care workers, who I thank for their tireless efforts.
“I can assure Queenslanders that our $764 million Putting Patients First plan to keep Queenslanders out of hospital is bolstering our frontline health workforce and strengthening the Queensland Ambulance Service.
“It is delivering more beds and delivering the major hospital upgrades and expansions we need to provide the best health-care possible.
“The Palaszczuk Government is making the necessary investments to provide quality healthcare closer to home, for all Queenslanders.”
Quotes attributable to Wide Bay HHS Chief Executive, Debbie Carroll:
“It’s a testament to the hard work of our dedicated health workers that we continue to provide quality service to our community, despite more people coming through our doors than ever before,” she said.
“Health workforce recruitment has been an ongoing challenge for our region, impacting on our ability to provide timely elective surgery.
“However we are pleased to announce that we have recently filled five senior medical positions in the Fraser Coast, and we expect to significantly improve our elective surgery waiting times in the coming months.”
