The causes of ED overcrowding mostly sit outside the ED itself, in bed availability, discharge planning and flow through the rest of the hospital. That’s why whole-of-hospital and whole-of-system ownership of this issue is so important.
For emergency physicians, this is fundamentally about patient safety. The highest-risk patient is often the one whose care is delayed in an overcrowded emergency department, which is why ACEM supports incentives to improve flow throughout the hospital. The 24-hour directive is a start in that direction.
Twelve months on, we want to keep working with Queensland Health to build on this directive, including through measures like our Hospital Access Targets. These targets increase the visibility of the patient journey through ED, including where bottlenecks impact patient flow to identify where further 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.
Statement from the QLD Branch Chair, Dr Justin Thompson, marking one year of the 24-hour ED directive