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Many people who attend hospital emergency departments (EDs) are triaged as having non-urgent concerns, which could be managed by other health services such as the GP. The way regional health services are designed can contribute to the rate of non-urgent presentations in EDs. The impact of non-urgent patients in EDs can result in crowding, ambulance diversion and access block, which are linked to poorer patient outcomes, increased morbidity and staff burnout. While some recognition of this problem exists nationally, many policies or strategies implemented to reduce the incidence of these presentations have not been evidence-based, effective or economically evaluated. We aim to develop a draft regional strategy for reducing non-urgent presentations in emergency.
Prior research on this project was funded by La Trobe University ($20,000), the Clifford Craig Medical Research Trust ($5000) and a University of Tasmania Scholarship ($5000).
READ MOREAlmost 3% of consumers of healthcare services in the Darling Downs, West Moreton and Gold Coast (Including Robina) regions are estimated to have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD); which is somewhat higher than the state average of 2.4%. COPD is the second leading cause of avoidable hospital admissions. Anecdotal evidence indicates continued over-utilisation of frontline resources (e.g., Emergency Department [ED]), and potential gaps in outreach services (e.g. underutilised services).
This project will inform the implementation and evaluation of referral treatment initiatives (e.g., anxiety management, smoking cessation referral, and quality intra-professional care [IPC] programs), based on identified causal factors.
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