The longest flu season in 10 years has led to record-breaking patient presentations at the State’s emergency hospital departments according to the latest report from the Bureau of Health Information.
Acting Deputy Secretary at NSW Health, Elizabeth Wood said the report found patient numbers to be the highest on record for the second quarter in a row.
Ms Wood said NSW’s public hospitals saw almost 755,000 patients attend emergency departments in April, May, and June, an increase of around 57,000, or 8.2 per cent, over the same quarter last year.
“We have seen a staggering number of hospital presentations this quarter, which is not even peak winter, influenced by the longest flu season in a decade,” Ms Wood said.
“In the face of these unprecedented arrivals, almost 72 per cent of emergency department patients had their treatment start on time, thanks to the outstanding efforts of our frontline staff,” she said.
“In addition, NSW elective surgery again outshines all other States with 96.4 per cent of all elective surgeries performed within the recommended time frames.”
Ms Wood said that for the first time, the Bureau of Health Information had reported on the rates of seclusion and restraint of patients in specialised acute mental health inpatient units.
“Since 2010-11, the rate of seclusion in NSW public hospitals has almost halved, a change to our culture we should be proud of,” she said.
Ms Wood said NSW Health was committed to reducing the use of physical restraint through the document Mental Health Safety and Quality in NSW: A plan to implement recommendations of reviews of seclusion, restraint and observation of consumers with a mental illness in NSW Health facilities.
The 8-page plan can be accessed at this PS News link.
