A record number of people attended hospital emergency departments on the Mid North Coast in the first quarter of this year.
Record emergency department activity on the Mid North Coast
May 29, 2024The latest Bureau of Health Information (BHI) Healthcare Quarterly report shows a record number of people attended hospital emergency departments in the Mid North Coast Local Health District (MNCLHD) in the first quarter of the year.
MNCLHD Chief Executive Stewart Dowrick praised the efforts of staff in providing high quality care to patients during the busy January to March period.
“We’ve experienced unprecedented demand for emergency care, with 38,420 attendances in the quarter, an increase of 9.2 per cent or 3,236 more attendances compared with the same quarter last year,” Mr Dowrick said.
“There were increases in presentations across all triage categories – we continue to see more patients and more of the most critically ill patients.”
Of the more than 36,000 presentations to Mid North Coast EDs, 4,343 were by patients with an imminently life-threatening condition (triage category 2) – this is a record high for the District and a nine per cent increase compared with the same quarter last year (3,985).
Despite this unprecedented demand, more than seven in 10 ED patients (70.7 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is better than the state average (66.1 per cent).
More than eight in 10 patients (82 per cent) were transferred from ambulances to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, which is also better than the state average (78.3 per cent).
Almost seven in 10 patients (68.8 per cent) left Mid North Coast EDs within four hours from arrival, compared with the state-wide average of 55.9 per cent.
All patients are seen and triaged on arrival at the ED and the most seriously unwell patients are treated first. During busy times, those with less urgent conditions can experience longer wait times when there are large numbers of seriously unwell patients being prioritised for emergency care.
MNCLHD continues to remind the community to keep emergency departments and ambulances for saving lives and consider alternative options for minor conditions such as medical centres or GPs or calling the 24-hour telephone health advice HealthDirect on 1800 022 222.
Throughout the first quarter of 2024, the District performed 2,711 planned surgery procedures, with all urgent planned procedures (100 per cent) performed on time.
“We continue to work hard to ensure planned procedures are performed as quickly as possible and it’s pleasing to see reductions in the numbers of patients overdue for their surgery,” Mr Dowrick said.
In 12 months, MNCLHD reduced the number of patients waiting longer than clinically recommended for a planned surgery by 71 per cent. The number of patients waiting longer than clinically recommended for planned surgery at the end of the quarter was 293, compared with 1,011 patients at the end of March 2023.
“Any patients who feel their condition has deteriorated while waiting for their procedure are encouraged to contact their treating doctor for a clinical review and they can be placed in a higher urgency category if required,” Mr Dowrick said.
Coffs Harbour Health Campus
Coffs Harbour Health Campus had 12,302 ED attendances in January to March 2024. More than seven in 10 patients (74.3 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED within the 30-minute benchmark. There were 920 planned surgeries performed throughout the quarter, with all urgent planned procedures (100 per cent) performed on time.
Kempsey District Hospital
At Kempsey District Hospital, there were 7,320 ED attendances from January to March 2024. More than seven in 10 patients (77.7 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is in line with the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (78.1 per cent). Almost all patients (92.1 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time and almost eight in 10 patients (79.2 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arrival. The hospital performed 327 planned surgeries, with all urgent planned surgeries (100 per cent) performed on time.
Macksville District Hospital
Macksville District Hospital had 3,651 ED attendances during the January to March 2024 quarter. Almost nine in 10 patients (89.8 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is significantly better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (78.1 per cent). Almost all patients (97.4 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, also better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (94.3 per cent). More than seven in 10 patients (75.5 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving, which is in line with the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (77.5 per cent). The hospital performed 363 planned surgeries.
Port Macquarie Base Hospital
Port Macquarie Base Hospital had 13,250 ED attendances in the January to March 2024 quarter. The majority of patients (69 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (61.7 per cent). More than eight in 10 patients (84.2 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, which is also better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (75.4 per cent). The majority of patients (71 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving, which is also better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (51.4 per cent). The hospital performed 873 planned surgeries, with all urgent planned surgeries (100 per cent) performed on time.