The President of the College, Dr Simon Judkins said that the hospital executives’ repeated failure to resolve the issue was putting patients at risk.
“Our emergency physicians at this site tell us that yesterday morning at the Royal Adelaide Hospital at 11.00;
- 91 patients were under treatment within the 73 bed emergency department
- 45 of those patients had been admitted but were awaiting a hospital bed
- 11 of these patients had been awaiting a hospital bed for longer than 24hrs
- Of these 11 patients, 10 were classified as requiring acute mental health care
- Due to this overcrowded and access blocked situation, 6 ambulances were ramped.
“Clearly this is an unacceptable situation for South Australian patients. Particularly those who require acute mental health care and must wait in the busy, loud and stressful situation of the ED for hours on end. They can’t sleep and their well-being deteriorates, probably extending the time that they need to spend in hospital.”
“The inability to provide appropriate inpatient care to people with acute mental illness means that these patients get stuck in the ED. This is bad for them and also undermines the ability of the ED team to care for other patients.”
Dr Judkins said that the Chair of South Australian Faculty of the College had told him that they were deeply frustrated by the inability of the hospital executive to resolve the issue.
“My understanding is that the hospital had not used the 10 mental health beds on the purpose-built ward since it opened in September 2017. We understood that the 10 beds would open on the 2nd of July, and then that the executive advised that the deadline would be met on the 16th of July, albeit at a reduction to 4 beds. Yesterday our colleagues were told that the beds would not open until a later, unspecified date.”
“South Australians, like all Australians, have a right to access timely, high quality and appropriate care. The Royal Adelaide is simply failing to deliver for many patients who turn up requiring urgent help.’’
ACEM President Dr Simon Judkins said: “ACEM maintains that we seek to work in collaboration with the hospital administrative and executive teams, and all relevant stakeholders, to resolve these issues. Patients deserve the services that can provide the care they need and ultimately, it is the responsibility of hospital executive and government to ensure emergency departments and hospitals are able to provide that care.”
ACEM recently published figures that demonstrate deteriorating and unacceptable access block and overcrowding, with patients in South Australia shown to be among those most at risk.
Access block and overcrowding in hospital emergency departments can be reduced through a combination of increased resources, realistic targets properly implemented and improved hospital management.
“What is needed is accountability across the hospital administration and executive,” Dr Judkins said.
“The repeated failure to deliver on promises is unacceptable. The College is happy to work with the Minister, his department and the Executive of the Central Adelaide Local Health Network to urgently resolve this situation, as we know we are all committed to the same outcome.”