SA Health blames bed cuts at Lyell McEwin Hospital on ‘technical issue’ as doctors ‘in tears’ over emergency dept delays

SA Health has explained why it looks like it cut beds at the Lyell McEwin Hospital - where emergency waiting times are so delayed doctors are “in tears”.

A “technical issue” on its website has made it appear as though SA Health has cut nine beds at Lyell McEwin Hospital has mysteriously lost nine inpatient beds, it says.

At 7am on Monday the northern suburbs’ flagship hospital had 400 admitted inpatients and six waiting for a bed – but its official inpatient capacity was listed as 368 beds.

The follows a quiet cut from 377 inpatient beds last month.

Moments after The Advertiser published this report, SA Health denied the number of beds had been reduced at Lyell McEwin Hospital.

“Due to technical issue with the SA Health Inpatient Dashboard, bed capacity at Lyell McEwin Hospital is not accurately reflected online,” it said in a statement.

“Our digital team has identified the issue and is working to resolve it as quickly as possible.”

It come as average waiting times in the emergency department has repeatedly blown out beyond eight hours and the overall hospital operates at well above capacity.

At the same time on Monday, arrivals at its emergency dept faced an average wait of 394 minutes, or more than 6.5 hours, to be treated.

SA Health metro hospitals inpatient beds at 7am on September 19, 2022.

SA Health emergency dashboard, 7am on September 19.

Would-be patients hoping to save time by driving elsewhere faced comparable queues.

At Modbury Hospital the wait was 4.2 hours; the Queen Elizabeth Hospital was six; the Royal Adelaide Hospital was four, Noarlunga Hospital 2.7 hours while the Women’s and Children’s Hospital was one.

Lyell McEwin’s beds cuts means overall official inpatient capacity in SA Health’s 11 metropolitan sites is now listed as 2950, rather than the 2959 it had in July when The Advertiser revealed the system had simply run out of beds.

On July 22 the metro public system had 2929 admitted inpatients and 138 waiting for a bed – six for more than 24 hours – in the 2959-capacity system, a situation that was repeated amid the Covid wave.

At the time Mr Picton said the government was opening “every possible bed” while dealing with a Covid-related influx equivalent to an entire QEH.

The emergency department at Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide’s north. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

The cutback at Lyell McEwin follows The Advertiser’s revelation Flinders Medical Centre’s ED had been cut by 12 beds, from 71 to 59, losing its short-held title as the state’s largest ED following a massive upgrade under the previous government.

Health Minister Chris Picton stressed FMC has not lost any beds overall – the 12 beds have been reassigned as inpatient beds “to improve patient flow” under recommendations of an independent report.

Despite this, average waiting times in the FMC emergency dept has blown out beyond eight hours multiple times this month, resulting in ambulance ramping.

Ramping rose 3.3 per cent in September to 3763 hours lost. In July it was 3647 hours after June’s record of 3854 hours.

Public hospital doctors now report colleagues in tears as the stress of the situation takes its toll.

There has never been this level of despair amongst all levels of @SAHealth emergency department staff before. Colleagues in tears most shifts as emergency care is not able to be delivered to people who need it. https://t.co/vj90fq77AA

— David Pope (@poped01) September 15, 2022

SA Salaried Medical Doctors Association past president David Pope, an emergency specialist doctor, says “there has never been this level of despair” among emergency dept clinicians with “colleagues in tears most shifts as emergency care is not able to be delivered to people who need it”.

SA Health has been contacted for comment.