By MichaelNewhouse
SUNSHINE Hospital’s emergency department is struggling under the weight of increased patient demand, with a blow-out in emergency waiting times, according to new hospital figures released earlier this month.
The latest Your Hospitals report, which covers the period from July to December 2006, shows the hospital’s emergency department fell behind on two national service benchmarks for treating urgent and emergency patients.
Seventy-one per cent of category two patients – those suffering “very severe pain”, major fractures or severe breathing difficulties – were seen in 10 minutes of arriving at Sunshine’s emergency department, falling short of the 80 per cent national standard.
And 51 per cent of category three patients – those suffering persistent vomiting, dehydration or blood loss – were seen within half an hour. The national standard is 75 per cent.
However the hospital was able to treat the most severe cases, with all unconscious patients receiving immediate attention.
Elective surgery waiting lists shrank at the hospital, which the Government said was a sign of the effectiveness of Labor’s waiting list blitz, which began in July 2005.
But the number of patients turning up to Sunshine’s emergency department grew by more than 1500 over the period, compared with the previous six months.
A spokeswoman for Western Health, Anne Learmonth, said pressure was growing on the hospital’s emergency department because of increased patient demand.
“The facilities are currently able to cope but with continued growth in the demand it will become more difficult,” Ms Learmonth said last week.
“While we do not meet the waiting times the average waiting time for category two is 12 minutes and category three is 37 minutes,” she said. “The medical and nursing teams at Sunshine are working on strategies to improve these times.”
The State Government allocated $20 million in last week’s State Budget to fund the design for the hospital’s new east wing, and a redevelopment, which will house 128 new and refurbished beds.
But the planned upgrade is unlikely to be completed before 2010, and with the surge of people moving into Melbourne’s western growth corridor – Caroline Springs and Watergardens – pressure on Sunshine’s emergency department is expected to continue to grow.
“The way patients are managed in emergency departments has changed and this will assist Western Health while waiting for the larger department,” Ms Learmonth said.
