ACEM particularly supports measures aimed at reducing the length of time patients spend in emergency departments (EDs) by encouraging whole-of-hospital ownership of the issue, as the drivers of access block largely lie outside of the ED.
The Queensland Government should also consider initiatives to better support hospitals that regularly report extended lengths of stays in their ED. ACEM has developed the Hospital Access Targets (HAT) and has recommended that they be adopted and publicly reported on by Queensland Health. This nuanced set of targets – which are less likely to be ‘gamed’ than single point-of-time targets – recognise the different patient journeys and identify where further support and investment is needed.
ACEM recommends that no patient spends more than 12 hours in an ED and strongly believes that 24-hour stays should be a never event.
Attributable to ACEM Queensland Faculty Chair Dr Shantha Raghwan
Background:
ACEM is the peak body for emergency medicine in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, responsible for training emergency physicians and advancement of professional standards. www.acem.org.au
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