Hervey Bay Hospital emergency department
Through the first quarter of 2023, the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service has supported an incredible number of emergency presentations and elective surgery patients coming through its doors.
Between the 1st January 2023 and 31st March 2023, WBHHS cared for 32,023 emergency patients and performed 1123 elective surgeries.
Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service Chief Executive Debbie Carroll said the numbers reflected a 33% increase in elective surgeries and a 5% increase in emergency patients when compared to the same three months in 2022.
“WBHHS teams are handling an enormous growth in patients and our hard-working staff are performing magnificently as they provide quality care to our community,” Ms Carroll said.
“These numbers are more than statistics – they represent the many patients who our team care for every day. I’m very proud of the dedication and professionalism of our staff as they support our patients and ensure our community has access to care while we experience high demand on our services.”
Ms Carroll said the good work of the elective surgery teams across the region was shown through both the increasing number of patients they were treating and their strong performance in seeing patients within their clinically-recommended waiting times.
“Our elective surgery teams and the staff who support them are continuing to do excellent work clearing waiting lists that had increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ms Carroll said.
“The 1123 patients they treated in the first three months of 2023 represented a 33.2% increase on the same period of time in 2022 – which is a staggering result and shows their dedication to ensuring patients are receiving the surgery they need.
“That outstanding work resulted in 87.7% of people on the elective surgery waiting list at the end of the quarter being within their clinically-recommended waiting time – including 97.7% of our most urgent category 1 patients.”
On top of the increased elective work, WBHHS continued to experience a growth of emergency patients being treated, with the vast majority of the most urgent patients being seen on time.
“If you come into emergency with a life-threatening condition you will be seen quickly by our teams,” Ms Carroll said.
“In the first quarter of 2023 our teams treated 99% of category 1 patients with life-threatening conditions within two minutes of their presentation to the emergency department. That’s being achieved by our teams despite a 5% overall growth in just the last year.
“The increased numbers of patients requiring emergency care can result in patients with non-life threatening conditions waiting longer at times of high demand – but our teams need to prioritise and treat patients with the most urgent conditions first.”
“On top of that great effort, our specialist outpatient clinics saw more than 5000 patients in the first three months of 2023 – meaning more patients are beginning their path to diagnosing their condition and accessing the treatment they need.
“We’re very proud of the efforts of all our staff across the region and as a health service we will continue to invest in infrastructure and models of care to support our teams to handle the extra demand for their care.”
Fast facts:
WBHHS is continuing to invest in infrastructure and new models of care to meet the extra demand for care in our community. This work includes:
- The $1.2 billion New Bundaberg Hospital project
- The current $44 million expansion of Hervey Bay Hospital
- Recent expansions of Maryborough Hospital including the upgrades of the ED and outpatients and the opening of the Short Stay Unit
- The opening of the new Hervey Bay Hospital emergency department in 2019
- Current construction of the new mental health inpatient unit at Hervey Bay Hospital and the Lighthouse Crisis Support Space at Bundaberg Hospital
- Inpatient bed expansion in the last five years including an additional 20-bed medical ward at Bundaberg Hospital, opening the 18-bed Ward 1 at Maryborough Hospital and a new 12-bed medical ward at Hervey Bay Hospital
- Launching several new models of care that provide support in the community such as the Rapid Interdisciplinary Seniors Engagement (RISE), Specialist Palliative Care In-reach Service (SPACE) and Residential Aged Support Service (RaSS). This reduces emergency presentations.
This initiative aligns with our strategic plan objectives Optimise and transform and Equity and access.
Find out more about our 2022-2026 strategic plan Care, connection, compassion for all.