Ordered to be published
VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER October 2016
PP No 216, Session 2014–16
Dear Presiding Officers
In accordance with section 16(3) of the Audit Act 1994, a copy of this report was provided to the Department of Health & Human Services and 30 health services for submissions and comments.
Responsibility for the accuracy, fairness and balance of those comments rests solely with the agency head.
Responses were received as follows:
In August 2015, the Department of Health & Human Services (the department) published a performance monitoring framework, High-performing Health Services, which sets out how it monitors health services in five key areas. In July 2016, the department updated this framework.
Emergency departments (ED) are often designed to reflect their specific case mix and clinical specialities, the available resources and infrastructure, and patient demand. The Department of Health & Human Services (the department) provides guidance on hospital admissions, triage approaches and observational units, and in 2016 introduced three measures of effectiveness. EDs also look to high-performing services to improve patients' experience at the hospital.
Access and timeliness are critical aspects of emergency care. Hospitals report regularly to the Department of Health & Human Services (the department) on patients' access to emergency services. Length of stay within an emergency department (ED) is an indicator of how well a hospital is managing patient demand. Hospitals are also benchmarked on the time it takes to treat patients based on urgency categories.
Growing demand for hospital services has been a persistent problem in Victoria and nationally for more than a decade. The effects of higher demand are most visible in the pressure point of public hospitals: emergency departments (ED).
In 2014–15, more than 1.5 million people attended a public ED in Victoria, an increase of 8.2 per cent from 2010–11. In comparison, Victoria's population increased by 6.1 per cent between 2010 and 2014. In 2014–15, one-third of presentations—almost 500 000—were at a major metropolitan hospital.
Longer stays in an emergency department (ED) are associated with poorer patient outcomes. Long waits to see emergency staff can discourage people who need care from waiting and may lead to reduced morale among ED staff.
Efficient EDs help people to get the care they need in a time frame that suits the urgency of the situation. Effective emergency care is coordinated so that patients have access to the staff and services required for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Ordered to be published
VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER October 2016
PP No 217, Session 2014–16