Queensland’s public hospitals have maintained their high standards and dedication to patient care in the face of rising demand on health services.
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Yvette D’Ath said Queensland Health’s latest December Quarter 2021 Performance Data revealed record activity in the state’s already busy emergency departments.
The results came during a heightened period of demand on health services due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“In the last three months of 2021 more than 640,000 people presented to an emergency department in a Queensland public hospital – a nine per cent increase over the corresponding period in 2020,” Ms D’Ath said.
“There were 4,094 Category 1 patients – the most urgent cases where minutes can mean the difference between life and death – who attended our emergency departments during those three months and they were all seen by a clinician within two minutes of arriving.
“There were 10 per cent more Category 2 presentations in the December 2021 quarter compared to the same period in 2020 and most of these patients were also seen within the recommended times.”
Ms D’Ath said the median wait time for treatment in Queensland emergency departments across all five presentation categories was only 14 minutes.
“These results are testament to the skill and commitment of our frontline personnel and the exceptional level of planning and preparation during COVID-19 to successfully meet the twin challenges of a pandemic and other healthcare needs,” she said.
“I am so proud of the work of our emergency clinicians who, despite seeing an increase in the demand for their services, were actually able to improve the median wait time for their patients by two minutes in the December 2021 quarter.
“If you present to a Queensland public hospital emergency department with a serious or life-threatening condition you can be confident in the knowledge that you will be seen quickly.
“Additionally, these results also demonstrate that people will also be seen as quickly as possible if they present with non-urgent conditions.”
Queensland Health Chief Operating Officer Shaun Drummond said hospitals worked hard to limit the impact of COVID-19 on elective surgeries, with a slight drop of 3.4 per cent between December 2020 and 2021.
“As we responded to the increasing demand on our health services due to the ongoing pandemic, we also had to reschedule some appointments,” Mr Drummond said.
“However, all urgent and semi-urgent outpatients were still seen during this time.
“With COVID case numbers and the subsequent pressures they presented on our health service subsiding, it is expected elective surgeries will pick-up during the remainder of the March 2022 quarter.
“This is a good outcome for our health service and good outcome for the people of Queensland.”
https://www.performance.health.qld.gov.au/
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