By Casey Neill
A GOVERNMENT report says Ferntree Gully’s Angliss Hospital is below state guidelines on emergency department admissions.
Between July and December last year, the percentage of emergency department patients admitted to a bed within eight hours was down more than 10 per cent on the first six months of the year, from 84 per cent to 73 per cent.
The Victorian Government states that hospitals must aim to admit 80 per cent of emergency department patients within eight hours.
The figures appeared in the most recent Your Hospitals report, a six-monthly State Government review of Victoria’s public hospitals.
In a statement from the hospital, general manager Natalie Sullivan said the report showed the key role and service the hospital provided the community.
However, Ms Sullivan’s statement failed to directly address the issue of emergency patients waiting for beds.
“The Your Hospitals report reflects the hospital’s achievements and commitment to delivering services responsive to the needs of our community,” the statement said.
It said that Ms Sullivan was pleased that despite an increase in emergency department presentations, less than one per cent of ambulances were turned away, which she said was well below the state benchmark of 3 per cent.
“While patients listed for awaiting semi and non urgent elective surgery appears to have increased as compared to the same period in 2006, I remain confident as is highlighted historically, that we will attend to a majority of these patients within clinically ideal times,” the statement said.
During the second half of last year the Angliss admitted a total of 12,706 patients.
Emergency department presentations increased by just over 7 per cent on the previous six months to 21,589.
“At Angliss Hospital, as a team, we continue to strive to improve access to services,” Ms Sullivan’s statement said.
She said this was demonstrated by a project the hospital was currently undertaking to improve the flow of patients from the emergency department to the medical ward.
“Other examples have been the provision of psychiatric triage to better support patients presenting with a mental illness and increased medical staff within the emergency department,” she said.
Hospital intake ‘poorly’
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