Four successful grants
17 December 2024
EMF’s targeted funding is driving innovative research that aims to improve patient flow and tackle the challenge of emergency department (ED) overcrowding and access block in Queensland public hospitals.
In the most recent Special Funding Round, EMF awarded $707,647 to four research projects exploring innovative solutions to improve patient assessment, treatment and discharge processes. This Special Funding Round is part of the EMF’s “Improving Patient Flow in Queensland Public Hospitals” research program which is run in partnership with Queensland Health’s Healthcare Improvement Unit at Clinical Excellence Queensland.
EMF Board Chair Prof Hugh Grantham ASM emphasised the importance of this research, particularly given the ongoing pressure on Queensland EDs, which are experiencing unprecedented demand for health services, increased patient complexity and workforce challenges. Prof Grantham said:
“It is clear that clinicians in our EDs are doing incredible work to deliver urgent care in very challenging circumstances. However, we need to ensure that the entire hospital system, from the moment a patient is assessed by paramedics through to when they are discharged, operates as efficiently as possible to alleviate pressure on EDs and improve patient outcomes.”
The successful grants in this funding round focus on improving patient flow through several key areas. Dr Philip Jones is leading a study to evaluate the impact of the Surgical Rapid Assessment Unit (SRAU) at Logan Hospital, a new initiative designed to assess stable surgical patients outside of the traditional ED process. Meanwhile, Ms Kate Trenoweth is testing the Acuity Level and Flow Report – Emergency Department (ALFRED) tool at the Queensland Children’s Hospital to automate capacity assessments and improve patient flow in paediatric EDs. Ms Stacey Watts from Caboolture Hospital is focusing on optimising the flow of patients between EDs and intensive care units (ICUs), specifically addressing delayed ICU admissions and discharges, which contribute to bed block.
EMF is particularly pleased to support Dr. Angela Wood’s project, which addresses delayed discharge from acute wards to residential aged care facilities (RACFs), a major contributor to access block and ED overcrowding. By identifying the barriers and solutions to discharge delays and developing predictive models, her research aims to streamline the discharge process, freeing up beds for incoming patients. Dr. Wood explains the expected impact of her project:
“This program of research aims to reduce delays for the large volume of patients who are clinically safe and ready for discharge from acute wards but awaiting residential aged care placement. This will improve access block for ED patients awaiting acute care and reduce harm associated with ED overcrowding and prolonged ED stays.”
EMF Board Chair Prof Grantham applauds the successful projects’ focus and stresses the importance of a comprehensive, whole-of-system approach to address access block and flow issues.
“Blockages in the ED are a widespread problem but only a symptom of what is happening in the whole of the health system, rather than a disease itself. The canary in the coal mine is the ambulance sitting on the emergency department ramp. We have become focused on fixing the emergency department gridlock. It is time that we stop focusing on the canary and start to consider the coal mine.
I am pleased to see that the successful projects in the most recent grant round align well with the findings from the landmark EMF-funded SuPAFLow study, which highlighted the importance of developing interventions outside the ED to improve flow across the patient journey. By exploring innovative solutions to streamline admission and discharge processes for complex patient cohorts and long-stay patients, these projects have the potential to bring about significant improvements in the overall patient journey in Queensland hospitals.”
Congratulations to all grant recipients!
Click here for more information about the research program ‘Improving Patient Flow in Queensland Public Hospitals’.
Read more about the SuPAFlow Study in our latest Annual Report.
Successful Improving Patient Flow in Queensland Public Hospitals grant projects:
Principal Investigator (PI) |
Project Title |
PI Institution |
Amount Awarded |
| Ms Kate Trenoweth | Acceptability, feasibility and efficacy of the Acuity Level and Flow Report – Emergency Department (ALFRED) tool. Measurement of capacity, overcrowding and escalation reporting in a tertiary paediatric emergency department. | Queensland Children’s Hospital | $86,880
|
| Ms Stacey Watts | Reducing delayed admissions from ED to ICU, ICU discharge delay and after-hours discharge through a co-designed multi-component intervention: A stepped wedge feasibility cluster randomised trial (the REDEEM-ED-ICU trial) | Caboolture Hospital | $195,978 |
| Dr Angela Wood | Optimising patient flow: reducing delay to discharge from acute wards to residential aged care facilities (RACF) to improve access block in the emergency department | Metro North Hospital and Health Service | $272,122 |
| Dr Philip Jones | Implementation and Evaluation of a Surgical Rapid Assessment Unit – Improving Emergency Department Flow with Timely Surgical Care. | Logan Hospital | $152,667 |
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