Demand on Wide Bay emergency departments spikes by 16 per cent

Demand on the Wide Bay’s emergency departments is up by more than 16 per cent as the number of seriously ill patients being seen in the recommended time frame and elective surgeries performed is also revealed.

Hervey Bay and Bundaberg hospitals.

Despite surging demand across Wide Bay emergency departments, the region’s most seriously ill patients were all seen within the recommended time frame new data has shown.

The March 2024 quarter performance data for the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service shows there were 34,890 treated in emergency departments across the region, including more than 12,000 at the Bundaberg Hospital and over 11,700 at Hervey Bay.

All of the most seriously ill patients, or Category 1 patients, presenting to emergency departments were seen within clinically recommended times, which is two minutes.

More than 1230 elective surgery patients were treated in the March 2024 quarter, an increase of almost 10 per cent compared to the March 2023 quarter.

Across the hospital and health service, there was a 16.8 per cent increase in the number of emergency department patients seen within clinically recommended times in the March 2024 quarter compared to the same period last year.

Hervey Bay Hospital. Pic: Josh Woning

The number of elective surgery patients treated grew by almost 10 per cent and the number of ready-for-surgery patients waiting longer than clinically recommended fell almost 80 per cent on the same time last year.

At Bundaberg Hospital, there were a number of significant improvements in the March 2024 quarter including emergency patients seen within clinically recommended time frames improving by seven per cent on the same quarter last year.

Almost 98 per cent of elective surgery patients were treated within recommended time frames, up 24 percentage points on the same period last year.

The patient off stretcher time also improved across the board in the March 2024 quarter, with an improvement of almost one per cent at Bundaberg Hospital, a 7.7 per cent point increase at Hervey Bay Hospital and a 3.6 per cent increase at Maryborough Hospital compared to the same period last year.

Bundaberg Hospital.

WBHHS Chief Operating Officer Ben Ross-Edwards thanked the service’s hardworking staff, whose “dedication has been pivotal in achieving these results, despite the rising demand for healthcare services”.

“We look forward to continuing our journey forward, building on these improvements to ensure even better healthcare outcomes for our community,” she said.

“Our focus remains on enhancing our services, and these latest performance data reflect our commitment to delivering timely and effective care to all patients.

“The improvements in emergency and elective surgery wait times are a testament to the resilience and hard work of our team, and we are excited about the future advancements we can achieve together.”

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Originally published as Demand on Wide Bay emergency departments spikes by 16 per cent