New way of dealing with emergency patients could see waiting times slashed
THE new Northern Beaches Hospital will run its emergency department in line with the latest research in a bid to reduce waiting times.
Manly
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THE $600 million Northern Beaches Hospital will have an “intelligent” emergency department designed to cut waiting times and get the patient seen by the right people quicker than ever, health bosses say.
In a first for the peninsula, the 50-bed emergency department will be connected to a bulk-billing GP medical centre, fitted with the latest equipment and technology, plus medical imaging, pathology and pharmacy.
For example if a patient has a suspected broken arm they can be scanned and have a temporary cast fitted at the GP centre.
But if doctors discover the break is more serious and surgery is needed they can walk through into the emergency department and be admitted to hospital, without having to go through the assessment process again.
Northern Beaches Hospital project director, Deborah Latta said when feeling particularly unwell, all too often people debate whether to go to the emergency department or see their GP.
“If a patient comes to the medical centre to see one of our GPs and it’s determined they need emergency care then they will be taken immediately through a door to the emergency department,” Ms Latta said.
“Likewise, if we assess a patient in the emergency department and determine that they could be effectively cared for by a GP, they will go to the medical centre.”
Manly Hospital emergency department nursing unit manager Joanne Watts, who has been advising on the fitout and will take a new job at the Frenchs Forest hospital, said frontline emergency staff working alongside GPs is something that has not been seen before on the northern beaches.
“The medical centre will be able to deal with all sorts of injuries and illnesses such as sprained ankles and minor lacerations that require stitching,” Ms Watts said.
“If these types of patients can be helped by a GP, this also helps to reduce the emergency department waiting times for patients.”
If there was enough demand, the GP centre would stay open 24 hours a day, but based on data from Manly and Mona Vale hospitals, health bosses say it will open from 10am to 8pm.
Either way, Ms Latta said people who arrive at the emergency department with minor injuries or complaints won’t get pushed down the waiting list when more serious cases come in as the aim is to deal with both types of cases at the same time.
To speed up the process a senior doctor or nurse will make an initial assessment of and direct the patient to the services they need.
“People should not have to wait as they would have had to before,” she said.
Watch the new hospital go up
The environment should also be better for younger patients with a designated children’s area where families can wait to be seen.
And, with the rise of mental health issues, there is a separate entrance for police bringing in those types of patients and quiet rooms where they can be assessed.
Ms Latta said the main entrance and waiting room for the emergency department would also have strict security to protect other patients or staff from anyone who is behaving antisocially.
GPs interested in employment in the new medical centre email doctors@northern beacheshospital .com.au.
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