By ALESHA CAPONE
WESTERN Health has assured patients it will monitor performance levels after Sunshine Hospital failed to meet a number of targets set out by the State Government.
Western Health’s executive director of operations, Russell Harrison, said the increasing number of people presenting at the emergency department has risen almost 10 per cent in 12 months.
“This increased demand led to a decrease in performance for the quarter and we are monitoring this closely,” Mr Harrison said.
Mr Harrison said Williamstown Hospital’s operating theatres have also been unavailable due to a construction project, which has significantly impacted upon Sunshine Hospital’s results in the latest Victorian Health Services Performance (VHSP) report.
The study shows between July and September last year, the hospital spent 110 hours on ambulance bypass, compared to 42 hours in the previous timeframe.
Bypass occurs when an emergency department reaches saturation point and asks paramedics to take non-urgent patients to a different hospital.
The VHSP report compared Sunshine Hospital with six other hospitals in its ‘peer group’, including Footscray Hospital which spent 111 hours on bypass.
In comparison, Dandenong Hospital spent 16 hours on bypass.
During the September quarter, Sunshine Hospital spent 120 hours on the Hospital Early Warning System (HEWS) compared to 55 hours between April and June.
HEWS is instigated by emergency departments when an ambulance bypass period is imminent.
The VHSP data also revealed 60 per cent of Sunshine Hospital emergency department patients were treated within the required time limits.
While all ‘category one’ triage patients – defined as the most urgent cases – were treated on time, 76 per cent of category two patients were seen within 10 minutes.
The Victorian Government target for these patients is 80 per cent.
The government standards also call for category three patients, such as those suffering moderately severe blood loss or persistent vomiting, to be treated within 30 minutes.
At Sunshine Hospital, 57 per cent of category patients were treated during their first half hour at the emergency department.
