Hornsby Hospital ED hit with one of busiest periods on record

An “unprecedented spike” in the number of people suffering from the flu at the start of this year resulted in the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital’s emergency department reporting one of its busiest periods on record, new data has revealed.

Hornsby Hospital’s emergency department (pictured) has been kept busy. Picture: Julian Andrews

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An “unprecedented spike” in the number of people suffering from the flu at the start of this year resulted in the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital’s emergency department reporting one of its busiest periods on record, new data has revealed.

A total of 10,579 patients visited the emergency department between January and March of this year.

It was the second busiest quarter on record at the hospital’s ED — with only July to September 2017 recording more patients (10,644 patients).

More than 10,500 patients visited the emergency department between January and March.

A Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) spokesman said the influx in patients was largely down to the spread of the flu during summer.

“The increase coincides with an unprecedented spike in the number of summer flu presentations,” he said.

“For the January to March period, more than 1300 people were diagnosed with influenza in NSLHD.

“This is substantially more than experienced previously with 807 cases diagnosed during this period in 2018 and only 418 confirmed cases in 2017.”

IN OTHER NEWS

The Bureau of Health Information releases data on public hospitals each quarter with detailed records going back to 2010.

Data for the first quarter of this year was released recently.

Hornsby Hospital is currently undergoing a $200 million stage two redevelopment and will welcome a refurbished and expanded emergency department as part of the redevelopment, which is due to be completed in 2021.

NSW Health has urged people to get their flu shot as winter hits which is free for under-5s, for pregnant women, people over 65, Aboriginal people and those with medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart problems.

Number of presentations at Hornsby Hospital ED:

Jan-Mar 2019: 10,579

Oct-Dec 2018: 10,296

Jul-Sep 2018: 10,164

Apr-Jun 2018: 9,855

Jan-Mar 2018: 9,968

Oct-Dec 2017: 10,292

Jul-Sep 2017: 10,644

Apr-Jun 2017: 10,057