NSW hospital activity at record levels
A new report by the Bureau of Health Information (BHI) shows there were record numbers of elective surgeries and hospital admissions in NSW during the April to June 2016 quarter.
BHI’s Hospital Quarterly report provides the most up-to-date snapshot of activity and performance in NSW public hospitals.
BHI Chief Executive Jean-Frederic Levesque said during April to June in NSW, there were more than 58,500 elective surgeries, 479,000 hospital admissions and 636,000 people visiting emergency departments.
“The report shows there has never been more elective surgeries performed and patients admitted to hospital in a quarter, and emergency department presentations are at the highest level of any previous April to June quarter,” Dr Levesque said.
“Compared to the same time last year, every week there were 328 more elective surgeries, 1,791 more hospital admissions and 635 more emergency department presentations.”
The report shows that, compared to the same time last year:
- The proportion of patients who received elective surgery within clinically-recommended timeframes decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 97.0%
- More patients arriving by ambulance had their care transferred to hospital staff within 30 minutes, an increase of 6.1 percentage points to 91.6%
- The proportion of emergency department patients whose treatment started on time increased by 1.9 percentage points to 76.3%
- More patients spent four hours or less in the emergency department, an increase of 0.6 percentage points to 73.9%.
“This quarter, more patients received elective surgery compared to the same time last year across NSW, while the time patients waited for surgery was mostly unchanged,” Dr Levesque said.
“Patients who arrived by ambulance waited less time to have their care transferred to emergency department staff and the percentage transferred within 30 minutes is the highest ever reported by the Bureau of Health Information.”
The report shows that across NSW, median times for patients to receive treatment and leave the emergency department were either unchanged or decreased.
“Shorter waiting times means the percentages of emergency department patients whose treatment started on time, and of those who were able to leave within four hours are the highest reported by BHI for any April to June quarter,” Dr Levesque said.
Detailed results are available at bhi.nsw.gov.au/BHI_reports