Record Attendance At Mackay EDs

Mackay Hospital and Health Service (HHS) emergency departments have seen a considerable rise in presentations, with a nine per cent increase in attendance compared to the same period last year.
In the March quarter, there were 27,279 attendances to emergency departments (EDs) in the Mackay HHS region.
Despite the surge, Mackay HHS median wait times across all categories improved to nine minutes from 10 minutes in the March quarter of last year. 100 per cent of Category 1 patients were seen within the clinically recommended timeframe.
Mackay HHS recorded a slight increase in the number of patients receiving elective surgery (772) from the prior quarter and at the end of the quarter, 82.6 per cent of ready for care patients on the waitlist were waiting within the clinically recommended timeframe.
The health service received additional funding of $5 million in 2023-24 to reduce long waits for elective surgery, gastrointestinal endoscopy and specialist outpatients.
Presentations to the ED at Mackay Base Hospital are reducing thanks to the Post Operative Discharge Support Service (PODSS), which has helped to relieve pressure on the ED and provide better support for patients as they recover from surgery.
The PODSS team has already increased from one clinical nurse consultant to two and has seen more than 370 patients since the service began two months ago.
Future infrastructure will assist with catering for long-stay patients, with the investment of $10.4 million to repurpose the former Sarina Hospital site to care for a number of patients who require daily support, but do not need acute hospital care.
The refurbishment of the former Sarina Hospital site is set to provide 24 long-stay patient beds in the existing facility.
Mackay Hospital and Health Service (HHS) Chief Executive Susan Gannon said that the Post Operative Discharge Support Service (PODSS) at Mackay Base Hospital has been a great success and is helping to not only relieve pressure on the busy ED, but also provide better support for patients as they recover from surgery.
“Our PODSS team has already increased from one clinical nurse consultant to two and has seen more than 370 patients since the service began two months ago,” Ms Gannon said.
“They also estimate that about 50 per cent of patients have been able to avoid a presentation to ED as a result.”
Ms Gannon added that Mackay Base Hospital regularly has about 30 long stay patients in acute beds in the wards.

“In effect this is the equivalent of one ward of the hospital which cannot provide acute care,” she said.
“The answer is to find a better environment for them, which is why we will undertake a refurbishment of the former Sarina Hospital site to provide 24 long stay patient beds in the existing facility.
“The number of the most urgent Category 1 patients in our seven emergency departments increased by 50 per cent in the March quarter compared to the same quarter last year.”

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Susan Gannon

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