Hospital EDs facing a long weekend surge of demand after ‘major incident alert’ disaster at RAH

A Health Network staff bulletin warns of huge demand challenges ahead of the long weekend – just days after a ‘major incident alert’ at the RAH.

Health officials are bracing for a surge in demand this weekend after a week of major hospitals’ emergency departments (EDs) working above their official capacity and the Royal Adelaide Hospital declaring a code yellow, “internal major incident” on Monday due to the workload.

The code yellow was lifted late on Tuesday afternoon but officials have put staff on notice to prepare for a busy long weekend as winter ills add pressure on EDs.

In a staff bulletin Brendan Docherty, executive director of operations at the Central Adelaide Local Health Network, thanked staff and said a concerted effort to review care and discharge patients meant the hospital is “in the best position we have been in for several weeks.”

“With a long weekend fast approaching and patients who still need our care, we cannot slow the pace or step back into a ‘business as usual’ way of working,” he wrote.

He noted that there were still patients waiting to be discharged via the Royal Flying Doctor Service who had not been transferred due to bad weather, and others who would be well enough to be moved to other care options.

He asked for twice daily reviews of patients for possible discharge and appealed for ideas to help improve efficiency.

“Please continue with our high quality care co-ordination and speak up if you have innovative ideas with a ‘find it, fit it and escalate it’ mindset,” he wrote.

The demand has seen all metropolitan hospitals operating at code white at times in recent days – treating more patients than their official ED capacity.

EDs have been clogged with patients who are waiting for a bed, in turn causing ambulance ramping.

The Women’s and Children’s Hospital will open nine new ‘overflow’ treatment areas in a bid to handle demand in its overstretched paediatric emergency department.