The most recent Bureau of Health Information (BHI) Healthcare Quarterly Report - April to June 2024 was released last week and indicated that the hospitals in Young, Boorowa and Harden continued to improve surgery wait times and deliver high quality, timely emergency care to the community. Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) Chief Executive Jill Ludford has applauded the local hospitals and thanked staff for their continued hard work throughout the period following excellent results in several Emergency Department (ED) key performance indicators. In Young there were 2,539 emergency department attendances at Young Hospital in the April to June quarter, an increase of 7.4 percent, or 176 more attendances, compared with the same quarter in 2023. While the number of more urgent presentations (T2 Emergency) decreased significantly compared to the same quarter last year (down 37.2 per cent or 107 presentations), the number of less urgent (T4 Semi-urgent) presentations rose by 40.6 per cent (315 presentations). Despite this significant rise in semi-urgent presentations, the median time from arrival to leaving ED was 1 hour 45 minutes, the sixth best in its peer group of 26 hospitals of a similar size in NSW, and well below the peer group average of 2 hours and 13 minutes. More than eight in 10 patients (85.2 per cent) were able to leave the ED within four hours of arriving, which is one of the best results for hospitals of a similar size in NSW. Almost eight in 10 (79.7 per cent) started treatment on time, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (77.3 per cent). During the April to June 2024 quarter, Young Health Service completed 63 planned surgeries and 26 babies were born. The results for the Boorowa MPS and Harden MPS Emergency Department figures are released annually, so aren't available as yet. The rest of MLHD’s emergency departments continued to provide care within timeframes well above the state average, despite high levels of activity. During the second quarter of 2024 there were 40,866 attendances to MLHD emergency departments, an increase of 2.4 per cent, or 967 more attendances, compared with the same quarter in 2023. Triage one (resuscitation) patients presenting increased by 10.5 per cent when compared to the same quarter in 2023. Despite this high demand, the vast majority of patients (81.3 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is the second-best result in the state. More than seven in 10 patients (72.7 per cent) were able to leave the ED within four hours of arriving, also better than the state average (54.7 per cent), and one of the best results in the state. Almost nine in 10 patients (82.8 per cent) were transferred from paramedics to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time – also significantly better than the state average (73.7 per cent). 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, people with less urgent conditions can experience longer wait times when there are large numbers of seriously unwell patients being prioritised for emergency care. MLHD continues to remind the community 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. “These results are a testament to the hard work of our highly skilled workforce, and I commend our teams for the dedication they continue to show to the patients in our care,” Ms Ludford said.
