Over 100 hours of bed time has been saved at Mackay Base Hospital thanks to the hospital’s newest initiative to improve patient flow and provide a better experience for those who are ready to leave hospital.
The Transit Care Hub (TCH), located on the hospital’s ground floor adjacent to the main entrance, acts as a departure waiting room managed by nursing staff for patients who are ready to head home but may be waiting on medication, transport or documentation.
The TCH opened on March 13, welcoming over 100 patients over that time, and Mackay Hospital and Health Service (HHS) Chief Operating Officer Sharon Walsh said its already proving its worth.
“What we are seeing even in these early stages is that it is providing a better flow of patients out of our acute wards and the emergency department, which means we are freeing up beds for other patients who need our care,” Ms Walsh said.
“On average our patients who are ready to leave us and just need to wait for medication, or a family member to pick them up, are spending about an hour and a half in the TCH, and we’re freeing up about 6 hours a day of bed availability.”
“Those patients don’t need to be in a ward bed, and we can provide a nice area for them to sit and wait,” added Clinical Nurse Consultant Kaylene Chetham.
“For us to be able to do that, it allows the bed managers to be able to move patients from the emergency department to the bed on the ward a lot quicker.”
The Innovation and Redesign Unit was initially tasked with putting together a submission for the Patient Flow Intensive Program, implementing five projects to improve hospital efficiency and patient flow.
“There were a lot of bed-block issues and these projects gave us the opportunity to look at the backend of the hospital and how we can get the flow from the wards to discharge,” said Innovation and Redesign Unit Director Toni Simmons.
“It’s not just one thing that’s going to fix everything, it’s everything working together as a whole.
Other projects to come out of the Patient Flow Intensive Program include digital communication technologies, inpatient telehealth programs, nurse-criteria-led discharge and power plans.
Mackay Base Hospital staff at the opening of the Transit Care Hub, from left, Kaylene Chetham, Seona MacDonald, Chloe McNamee and Emma Hess
Mackay Hospital and Health Service Chief Operating Officer Sharon Walsh cuts the ribbon to officially open the new Transit Care Hub. Also, from left, are staff Emma Hess, Chloe McNamee and Kaylene Chetham. Photos supplied
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