UOW study to enable better use of resources at Wollongong Hospital ED

While some patients visited the ED often, only 600 people in the study were ongoing frequent attenders, visiting emergency departments more than seven times a year for longer than two years.

Wollongong Hospital.

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As pressure mounts on staff and resources at Wollongong Hospital, a new study is looking at ways the emergency department could operate more efficiently, by bringing down wait times and delivering better outcomes for patients.

Across Australia, visits to public hospital emergency departments have been increasing faster than population growth.
In the Illawarra alone, visits to Wollongong Hospital’s emergency department have risen from 53,971 in 2011/12 to 68,786 in 2017/18.

The rising number of visits prompted a team of researchers from the University of Wollongong Centre for Health Research Illawarra Shoalhaven Population and clinicians from the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District to look at which people were using the emergency department repeatedly and why.

Lead researcher Dr Luise Lago and her team analysed more than one million emergency department visits using data available on the Illawarra Health Information Platform, and the results were surprising.

“There is a widely-held view among researchers, policy makers, managers, and clinicians, that a large number of people repeatedly visit emergency departments year after year, taking up beds that are needed for more urgent patients,” Dr Lago said.

Dr Luise Lago and James Brinton. Picture: UOW Media

“Our study conclusively shows that the group of frequent attenders is constantly changing, both overall, and for every age group. This was surprising to policy makers and clinicians and shows the importance of looking at long-term patient data.”

The research showed that while some patients visited the emergency departments often, only 600 people in the study were ongoing frequent attenders, visiting emergency departments more than seven times a year for longer than two years.

Most of these “frequent attenders” were younger adults, with most suffering from substance abuse and mental health problems, and from lower income areas.

Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District service lead of emergency James Briton said the research would benefit patients and enable emergency departments to operate more efficiently.

“We believe that addressing the needs of this small group of ongoing frequent attenders will result in the best outcomes for the patient and for our emergency departments,” he said.

As patient visits to the hospital continue to rise, Mr Brinton is looking to put the research findings into immediate practice, creating a task force with UOW, the primary health network COORDINARE, and NSW Ambulance to better target the frequent attenders, and relieve pressure on hospital staff and resources.

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