Southwest Sydney hospitalisation rates among highest in NSW
A new report has found hospitalisation rates in southwest Sydney are among the highest in NSW as hospitals struggle to cope with a growing number of emergency presentations.
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Hospitalisation rates in southwest Sydney are among the highest in the state, a report looking at the health of the region has found.
The data shows rates of potentially preventable hospitalisations — which describes conditions for which hospitalisation as potentially avoidable through preventive care and early disease management — in the southwest were the highest in metropolitan Sydney.
Figures from the South West Sydney: Our Health report show potentially preventable hospitalisations for chronic, vaccine preventable and acute conditions were higher at 2476 per 100,000 people in the southwest compared to 2248 across NSW in 2016-17.
It also found cellulitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, urinary tract infections, ear, nose and throat infections, dental conditions and congestive heart failure accounted for more than half of all potentially preventable hospitalisations.
The report was developed by the South Western Sydney Primary Health Network and South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) to provide a detailed picture of the health of the region and plan for the community’s needs now and in the future.
Speaking about its recent launch, SWSLHD chief executive Amanda Larkin said prevention and treatment of chronic diseases remained a key priority.
“We are already delivering the right care but, having this document rich with data, allows us to plan for the future,” she said.
The latest Healthcare Quarterly data from the Bureau of Health Information shows hospitals in the South Western Sydney Local Health District are struggling with a growing number of emergency presentations, which rose from 69,602 in the first quarter of 2018 to 76,177 in the same period this year.
Across all triage categories — emergency, urgent, semi-urgent and non-urgent — there were drops in the percentage of patients who started treatment on time in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year.
The biggest decline was among patients in the emergency category, with 55.6 per cent starting treatment on time, an 11 per cent drop from 2018.
The number of patients leaving the emergency department within four hours of presentation was also lower in the first quarter of 2019, with 59.5 per cent leaving in that time frame compared to 67.7 per cent in 2018.
Across NSW, 70 per cent of patients left within four hours of presenting to the emergency department.