A new $10 million action plan is set to boost access to emergency care at some of Queensland's busiest hospitals.
The South East Queensland Emergency Care Action Plan outlines a number of initiatives designed to meet the significant growth in demand for emergency care in the state's southeast corner. While Queensland has seen approximately four per cent more presentations to emergency departments and more patients admitted year on year, data shows there has also been growth in the severity and complexity of illnesses and injuries people are presenting with.
Deputy Director-General Clinical Excellence Division Dr John Wakefield said the plan was developed in consultation with key leaders from the Department of Health, Hospital and Health Services (HHSs) in southeast Queensland and the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS). He said the action plan is designed to improve the patient journey; right from their call to Triple Zero (000) and through the hospital emergency department.
"We need to ensure patients continue to receive the best possible care despite the increasing pressure our emergency staff are facing. We are supporting their continued efforts to see that patients receive timelier and better coordinated care in the right clinical environment."
Dr Wakefield said the Clinical Excellence Division was helping to develop improved emergency department models of care, models tailored specifically to frail elderly patients, as well as fast-tracking a standardised handover protocol to help ensure timely and safe handover of patients from Queensland Ambulance Service staff to emergency department clinicians.
The plan builds on existing investments to improve access to emergency care, including the $15 million Winter Beds Strategy which the Clinical Excellence Division is also helping to deliver.
