- 35,371 people presented to Townsville Hospital and Health Service EDs in the most recent quarter, a 6% increase on the same time last year
- 100% of category 1 patients were seen within 2 minutes of arriving to hospital
Quarterly performance data shows an increased number of patients presenting to Townsville Hospital and Health Service emergency departments as the health service continues to perform high numbers of elective and critical emergency surgeries.
35,371 people presented to Townsville emergency departments in the past 3 months, a 6 per cent increase on the same time last year.
Townsville HHS treated 1,989 elective surgery patients in the June quarter of 2023, compared to 1,962 in the same period last year.
Across all five triage categories the median wait time for treatment was 12 minutes for patients presenting to Townsville HHS emergency departments.
The number of elective surgery patients treated in the June quarter is a 1.4 per cent increase in the number treated in the same quarter in 2022.
During the June quarter, the Townsville HHS saw an increase in the number of elective surgery patients treated within the clinically recommended timeframe.
Of those treated during the June quarter, 62.9 per cent were treated within the recommended time, compared to 58.3 per cent in the previous quarter.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Shannon Fentiman:
“While we have seen some improvements, we know there is much more work to do.
“Our emergency departments managed a record number of presentations, more than 10,500 than the same quarter last year, and our patient off stretcher times remained steady, at 55 per cent.
“Despite the rapid population growth we’re experiencing, and despite being the busiest in the country, our ambulance service is doing incredible work to look after their communities.
“These improvements would not be possible without the hard work, dedication, and commitment to patient care from our health care workers, who I thank for their tireless efforts.
“I can assure Queenslanders that our $764 million Putting Patients First plan to keep Queenslanders out of hospital is bolstering our frontline health workforce and strengthening the Queensland Ambulance Service.
“It is delivering more beds and delivering the major hospital upgrades and expansions we need to provide the best health-care possible.
“The Palaszczuk Government is making the necessary investments to provide quality healthcare closer to home, for all Queenslanders.”
Quotes attributable to Acting Health Service chief executive Sharon Kelly:
“Across our health service we recorded 35,371 emergency department attendances from April to June 2023 – compared to 33,312 in the previous quarter,” Mrs Kelly said. “This is a six per cent increase in the number of patients presenting to our emergency departments compared to the previous quarter (January to March 23).
“Despite ongoing pressures on our emergency departments, 81 per cent of patients were seen within the clinically recommended time frame.”
“It is a testament to our staff that the health service has again recorded one of the best patient-off-stretcher times in the state,” she said.
“Eighty-eight per cent of patients who arrived by ambulance were transferred from a stretcher within 30 minutes.
“This is an improvement from 82 per cent in the same quarter last year.”
“We continue to focus on our category one elective surgery waitlist with 875 patients treated last quarter,” Mrs Kelly said.
“This is a 3.1 per cent increase in category one patients treated during the same quarter in the previous year.
“During the June 2023 quarter, 73 per cent of these category one patients were treated within the clinically recommended time frame.”
“As well as performing thousands of elective surgeries Townsville University Hospital also performed 1,549 emergency surgeries throughout the June quarter,” she said.
“This is compared to the 1,480 emergency surgeries conducted during the March 2023 quarter.”
