Ambitious plans to end ramping at RAH and QEH by April 30 include ‘Orbit teams’
The Royal Adelaide Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital have a self-imposed deadline of April 30 to end ambulance ramping while preparing for coronavirus, internal documents show.
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Two major hospitals have a self-imposed deadline to end ambulance ramping by April 30, internal documents show.
The deadline for the Royal Adelaide and Queen Elizabeth hospitals comes amid a concerted effort to deal with the issue, led by Central Adelaide Local Health Network chief executive Lesley Dwyer.
A staff bulletin issued last Wednesday, headed Ramping Is Not Right – It Ends On April 30, states: “Last week we achieved three days without ramping at the RAH and four days at TQEH.
“There was a strong focus on hospital occupancy and discharging long-stay patients
“This week we are focusing on our discharge lounge, mental health, weekend planning and escalation actions and communications.” The efforts had an impact on waiting times in emergency departments, which dropped despite a rise in presentations.
“Patients were waiting between 4–6 hours, rather than the previous normal of 8-10 hours, which shows that even in busy circumstances we can achieve better outcomes for patients,” the bulletin states.
Staff were also advised: “At the RAH we were able to discharge five long-stay patients, one who had been here for close to nine months.” The bulletin, signed by the RAH executive director of operations Bronwyn Masters, and her TQEH counterpart Paul Lambert, says efforts to stop ramping are more important than ever.
“With the current and possible future increase of demand for our services due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), we need to ensure that we are as prepared as possible in this dynamic and changing environment,” it says.
“The RAH has opened a COVID-19 screening and assessment clinic to assist with diverting cases away from the ED. We are also working with our partner local health networks and SA Ambulance Service to prepare for ... scenarios that may develop over the coming weeks.”
To stop ramping, staff have started a daily “huddle” at the RAH to review performance from the previous day and plan ahead. A similar meeting takes place at TQEH each week.
There is also a team focused on better discharge planning for patients with complex needs.
Health Minister Stephen Wade referred inquiries on the ramping deadline to CALHN.
Ms Masters told The Advertiser: “We are seriously committed to stopping ramping by 30 April and have seen positive progress from the strategies we’re implementing, such as a drop in patient wait times and a reduction in ramping despite an increase in presentations.”