Qld triple-0 program averts 21k unnecessary call-outs

A pilot program that prevented the unnecessary dispatch of 21,000 ambulances in just a year will become a permanent service.

A triple-0 pilot program that prevented the unnecessary dispatch of 21,000 ambulances in just a year will receive $14.5 million and become a permanent service to take the pressure off Queensland’s overwhelmed emergency departments.

The additional state government funding will allow staff at the Queensland Ambulance Service Clinical Hub, based at the state’s busiest Triple Zero Operations Centre, to make up to 800 calls per day to patients who have called seeking an ambulance.

The cash injection comes as Health Minister Shannon Fentiman remains under increasing pressure over ambulance ramping and long patient waits at the state’s emergency departments.

QAS director (digital healthcare and innovation) Alex Thompson said: “What this means is we can ensure patients are given ­appropriate clinical oversight, either upgrading or downgrading response codes, or help patients to find alternative healthcare pathways which provide appropriate and equivalent health care.”

Last financial year, the hub at the Kedron Emergency ­Services Complex referred 21,000 patients to appropriate alternative emergency care which did not ­involve the dispatch of an ­ambulance.

The Kedron Emergency ­Services Complex

Ms Fentiman said that having paramedics, nurses, doctors, mental health clinicians and social workers all working together in the same location, means the best possible appropriate care can be organised for the patient.

“Diverting 21,000 patients away from emergency departments, and toward the correct care and services Queenslanders need is crucial work that helps take pressure off our busy hospitals,” she said.

“We have more healthcare options available today than ever before and navigating them can be complex.

“That’s why I am committed to supporting the important work of the Clinical Hub, to ensure we can help patients navigate the system and get the right care.”

The hub initially started in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, with just five paramedics and two emergency medical dispatchers.

Mr Thompson said it had now expanded to a 24 hours a day, seven days a week service, with more than 64 specialist staff, including senior paramedics, doctors, emergency medical specialists, social workers, nurse navigators and mental health clinicians.

“It means we have more of the right people making the right calls to provide the right care for Queenslanders and freeing up capacity for the state’s most critical and urgent cases,” he said.

“The Clinical Hub model of care means we can ensure everyone is getting exactly the right response and treatment through the right pathway.”