The latest Bureau of Health Information (BHI) Healthcare Quarterly Report – October to December 2024 shows public hospitals in Murrumbidgee Local Health District continued to improve planned surgery wait times and deliver high quality, timely emergency care to the community.
MLHD Executive Director Medical Services, Professor Len Bruce thanked staff for their hard work throughout the period, with excellent results in several emergency department key performance indicators, and more patients receiving their planned surgery on time.
“Our results are a testament to the hard work of our highly skilled workforce, and I commend our teams for the dedication they continue to show to the patients in our care,” Professor Bruce said.
The District continues to closely monitor surgical activity and optimise available theatre time, with 1,777 planned surgeries performed in our hospitals from October to December 2024.
Almost nine in ten (88.6 per cent) of these planned surgeries were performed on time, an improvement of 11.1 percentage points compared to the same quarter in 2023 (77.5 per cent).
There was also a significant increase in the number of urgent planned surgeries performed compared to the same period in 2023 (444 surgeries, 46 more than the same period last year), with all (100 per cent) performed on time.
Professor Bruce said the District continues to work hard to ensure patients receive their planned surgery as soon as possible.
“We are very pleased that we continue to see reductions in wait times for planned surgery,” Professor Bruce said.
“Although the number of patients on the waiting list for planned surgery continues to increase, more patients are receiving their surgery on time. We continue to monitor our surgery wait times to ensure patients receive their surgery within the clinically recommend timeframe.”
“The time to surgery for each patient is individually determined based on a clinical assessment of their condition by their specialist, who then gives the patient an urgency category.
“Patients who feel their condition may have deteriorated while waiting for their surgery are encouraged to contact their treating doctor who can review their condition and place them in a higher urgency category if appropriate.”
MLHD’s emergency departments continued to provide care within timeframes well above the state average, despite high levels of activity.
During the final quarter of 2024 there were 41,491 emergency attendances to the District’s EDs, decrease of 0.5 per cent, or 216 less attendances, compared with the same quarter in 2023.
There were 3,792 presentations to EDs by patients with imminently life-threatening conditions (triage category 2), an increase of 5.5 per cent or 199 patients, compared to the same period in 2023. Non-urgent presentations (triage category 5) increased by 9.4 per cent, or 551 presentations, compared to the same period in 2023.
Despite the high demand in our ED’s, the majority of patients (78.9 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is the best result in the state.
More than seven in 10 patients (73.6 per cent) were able to leave the ED within four hours of arriving, well above the state average (56.6 per cent), and the second-best result in the state.
The District had 7,623 arrivals by ambulance to our EDs, the highest number on record and 125 more than the same period in 2023. More than eight in 10 patients (86.7 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, which was better than the state average (83.4 per cent).
“All patients are seen and triaged on arrival at the ED and, as always, the most seriously unwell patients are treated first,” Professor Bruce said.
“During busy times, people with less urgent conditions can experience longer wait times when there are large numbers of seriously unwell patients being prioritised for emergency care.
MLHD continues to invest in strategies to improve the timeliness for patients presenting to ED’s. The Rapid Access Clinic (RAC) at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital is providing an alternative destination for assessment and treatment for many patients who would previously have presented to the emergency department. Suitable patients are referred to the RAC by the emergency department, Healthdirect, GP’s, pharmacies and NSW Ambulance.
“We continue to remind the community to support us by saving emergency departments and ambulances for saving lives. If an illness or injury is not serious or life-threatening, we encourage people to call Healthdirect on 1800 022 222 for trusted health advice, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.”
INDIVIDUAL HOSPITALS
Wagga Wagga Base Hospital
There were 12,284 emergency department attendances at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital in the October to December 2024 quarter, just 2 less than the same period in 2023 (12,286).
Increases were seen in more serious presentations with triage category 2 (emergency) presentations increasing by 10.4 per cent, or 118 presentations, compared to the same quarter in 2023.
The majority of patients (61.7 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (58.1 per cent). 50.9 per cent of patients left the ED within four hours of arrival.
Despite a record 3,282 arrivals by ambulance during the quarter, more than eight in 10 (81.5 per cent) of arrivals were transferred to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, which is consistent with the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (80.5 per cent).
During 2024’s final quarter, 1,330 planned surgeries were performed, with 84.9 per cent performed on time, an improvement of 11.7 percentage points compared to the same quarter in 2023 (73.2 per cent). All (100 per cent) of urgent planned surgeries were performed on time.
There were 295 babies born at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital during the quarter.
Griffith Base Hospital
There were 5,591 emergency department attendances at Griffith Base Hospital in the October to December 2024 quarter.
During the quarter, more seriously unwell patients presented to the ED. Of the more than 5,300 presentations, there were 648 triage category 2 (emergency) presentations, an increase of 6.8 per cent or 41 presentations, compared with the same quarter in 2023. There were 2,256 triage category three (urgent) presentations, an increase of 11.7 per cent, or 237 presentations compared with the same quarter in 2023.
There were 2,088 patients presenting in the semi urgent category (triage category 4), and 357 by patients in the non-urgent category, both measures reflecting decreases compared with the same quarter in 2023.
The majority of patients (65.7 per cent) started their treatment on time, and 71.7 per cent were able to leave the ED within four hours, better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (61.9 per cent).
Almost all patients (93.3 per cent) arriving by ambulance were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time, better than the average result for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (90.9 per cent).
During the October to December 2024 quarter at Griffith Base Hospital there were 279 planned surgeries performed, with almost all planned surgeries (99.6 per cent) performed on time. All urgent planned surgeries (100 per cent) were performed on time. At the end of the quarter there were no patients on the waitlist who had waited longer then clinically recommended for their surgery.
Throughout the quarter, 113 babies were born at Griffith Base Hospital.
Deniliquin Health Service
There were 2,786 emergency department attendances at Deniliquin Hospital in the October to December 2024 quarter, an increase of 1.6 per cent, or 43 attendances, compared to the same period in 2023.
Despite this increased activity, almost all patients (96.7 per cent) started treatment on time, which is the best result for hospitals of a similar size in NSW, and significantly better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (76.5 per cent).
More than eight in 10 patients (83.5 per cent) were able to leave the ED within four hours of arriving, also better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (77.7 per cent).
Arrivals by ambulance increased by 26 per cent, to 344 arrivals compared to the same period in 2023 (273 arrivals). Despite this increase in activity, almost all patients (94.9 per cent) were transferred from ambulance to ED staff within the 30-minute benchmark time.
At Deniliquin Health Service there were 43 planned surgeries performed in the October to December quarter and all urgent planned surgeries (100 per cent) were performed on time.
During the quarter at Deniliquin Health Service 16 babies were born.
Young Health Service
There were 2,418 emergency department attendances at Young Hospital in the October to December 2024 quarter, a decrease of 6.1 per cent, or 157 less attendances, compared to the same quarter in 2023.
The majority of patients (78.4 per cent) started treatment on time, and more than eight in 10 patients (86.5 per cent) were able to leave the ED within four hours.
During the October to December 2024 quarter, Young Health Service performed 75 planned surgeries and 23 babies were born.
