NORTHERN NSW HOSPITALS IMPROVE PERFORMANCE AMID RECORD DEMAND

Public hospitals across Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) continue to improve emergency department performance, despite record attendances and more complex admissions to emergency departments.

The latest Bureau of Health Information (BHI) Healthcare Quarterly report (October – December 2022) shows there was a record 56,393 attendances to NNSWLHD EDs, including 6,617 by patients with an imminently lifethreatening condition (triage category 2) – also the highest number of patients in this category since BHI began reporting.

Acting Chief Executive for Northern NSW Local Health District, Lynne Weir, said the District’s hospitals continued to perform well amid the high activity.

“After the challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re beginning to see small, but important upwards trajectories in the second half of 2022 across the majority of indicators of hospital performance,” Ms Weir said.

“This includes time to treatment, the percentage of patients leaving emergency departments within four hours, the time to transfer of care from ambulance to hospital staff, and the number of patients on the elective surgery waiting list at the end of the quarter.”

More than seven in 10 patients (72.7 per cent) started treatment on time, which is better than the NSW state average (66.4 per cent).

More than eight in 10 patients (84.9 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, also above the state average (78 per cent). The majority of patients (72.6 per cent) left the ED within four hours, above the NSW average (58.4 per cent).

“We have recently introduced a Patient Flow Unit, with the aim of further improving the transfer of patients throughout our hospitals, to make sure we’re providing patients with the right care in the right place, and also making the best use of our available resources across the District,” Ms Weir said.

A total of 3,535 elective surgeries were performed across the region, with nearly all urgent elective surgery (97.4 per cent) performed on time.

“Additional elective surgery lists have also been scheduled at Ballina and Casino hospitals to increase the number of procedures we’re able to provide, and we are continuing our collaborative surgical care with private hospitals in the region,” Ms Weir said.

Any patients who feel their condition has deteriorated while waiting for their procedure are encouraged to contact their treating doctor for a clinical review.

The 2022-23 budget for Northern NSW Local Health District is more than $985 million, an increase of more than $40 million, or 4.3 per cent more, on the previous year’s budget. In addition, the NSW Government is incentivising hard-to-fll, critical roles in hospitals and health facilities with an $883 million investment targeted at recruiting and retaining staff in regional, rural and remote areas.

INDIVIDUAL HOSPITAL RESULTS

BALLINA DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 4,572 ED attendances during the quarter. The majority of patients (68.6 per cent) started their treatment on time.

More than seven in 10 patients (76.2 per cent) left the ED within four hours. Almost nine in 10 patients (88.5 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

BYRON CENTRAL HOSPITAL had 5,893 ED attendances and almost nine in 10 patients (89.7 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (77.2 percent). Nearly all patients (95.5 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, which is also better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (93.3 per cent).

CASINO & DISTRICT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL had 3,680 ED attendances in the quarter. The vast majority of patients (83.9 per cent) left the ED within four hours of arriving, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (79.2 per cent). More than 9 in 10 patients (93 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

GRAFTON BASE HOSPITAL had a record 7,210 ED attendances during this quarter. The majority of patients (65 per cent) started treatment on time, and seven in 10 patients (70.8 per cent) left the ED within four hours, above the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (60.9 per cent). More than eight in 10 patients (87.8 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, which is also better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (85 per cent).

LISMORE BASE HOSPITAL had 10,093 ED attendances during the quarter. More than eight in 10 patients (82.3 percent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, which is above the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (76.3 per cent).

MACLEAN DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 4,134 ED attendances during the quarter, the most on record. More than eight in 10 patients (83.2 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (77.2 percent). Nine in 10 patients (90.5 per cent) left the ED within four hours, which is above the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (79.2 per cent). Nearly all patients (92.1 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

MURWILLUMBAH DISTRICT HOSPITAL had 4,627 ED attendances during the quarter. The majority of patients (77.5 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (67.4 per cent). More than eight in 10 patients (81.4 per cent) left the ED within four hours, also better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (60.9 per cent). Almost all patients (92.5 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark.

THE TWEED HOSPITAL had 14,089 ED attendances during the quarter. More than seven in 10 patients (77.5 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is above the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (63.2 per cent). Eight in 10 patients (80.8 percent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark, which is also better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (76.3 per cent).