Only 60 per cent of the 8613 patients who presented at Werribee Mercy Hospital’s emergency department in the December 2015 quarter were treated within desired assessment times, new figures reveal.
The recently released Victorian Health Services Report shows that while 100 per cent of category one patients presenting to emergency were treated immediately during the quarter, the hospital failed to meet the state government benchmark for category two patients for the second quarter running.
Data reveals the hospital treated only 70 per cent of category two patients – those with a critical illness or very severe pain, including serious chest pain and breathing difficulties – within the prescribed 10 minutes. The state benchmark for this category is 80 per cent.
The hospital has also failed to meet the desired treatment time of category three patients every quarter for the past 12 months.
During the December quarter, Werribee Mercy treated 62 per cent of category three patients within the prescribed 30 minutes – below the national target of 75 per cent.
Increased demand
Werribee Mercy health services chief executive Linda Mellors said the hospital’s emergency department was experiencing an increase in demand, including in numbers of patients needing to be transferred to other hospitals.
Dr Mellors said a planned $85 million hospital redevelopment to include six operating theatres and 64 new beds would help lighten the load once it’s finished in 2018.
“Transferring patients can create a bed block in the ED and impact on waiting times,” she said. “It’s disappointing that Werribee Mercy didn’t meet the state government’s targets. We’re currently working on strategies to ensure patients get to the wards in a timelier manner. When the hospital is at peak demand, we endeavour to open more acute beds to treat a higher number of patients.”
Since January, a new system has started, with a dedicated team of an experienced doctor and nurse treating category four and five patients in a bid to cut all waiting times. But Dr Mellors said it was too early to tell what impact the new “streaming” process was having on the hospital’s emergency department.
Elective surgery improvements
Meanwhile, the hospital’s elective surgery list decreased from 815 patients to 777 over the 12 months to last December 31 – a drop Dr Mellors attributes to extra surgical staff in urology, colorectal, orthopaedic and general surgery.
